Offing Purple Haze
by NinjaZero
Summary: After future Trunks dimension jumped he ended up in Republic City. He is faced with a choice: Live his life as an ordinary citizen or use his abilities to help the Avatar bring peace and balance to the world. Unfortunately, escaping his troubled past proved more difficult than he originally thought.
1. Chapter 1

**So… I've been on a crazy ride with this story over the last 2 years. I've rewritten it three times! Yet, I still feel like I could do better. I ****_could_**** just count my losses and write a new story but I want to prove to myself that I can make this work.**

**I'll try posting a new chapter every five days. I'm aiming for 15-25 chapters in this story, so this will keep the both of us busy for a few months :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Legend of Korra or Dragon Ball Z. Those belong to Bryan, Mike and Akira Toriyama.**

**WARNING: This story contains violence and some coarse language.**

* * *

**\- . Offing Purple Haze . -**

**Chapter 1**

_"Unit two-sixteen. Cancel that four-twenty all along the Watchtower. Come back to the station. Over."_ The police scanner was at full volume in Asami's, Bolin proclaimed, Avatarmobile.

Turning the volume nob down, she spoke the anger that's been hung up on both their minds, "I'm sick of this! These police scanners don't help us out at all."

"Well unfortunately it's the only way we can find criminals before _he _does."

"Oh don't remind me Mako. 'The Devil of Republic City'. How pretentious!" she burst out, slamming her fist against the dashboard.

She turned back to him. "How did you manage to convince Asami to let _you_ use her car anyway?"

"What do you mean by _you_? It just so happens that I'm a fairly good driver, unlike a certain someone who first thought the clutch was the glove compartment." He brought his gloved hand to his mouth and coughed, followed shortly by her name.

"Hey! The cough is supposed to cover the name!"

"No. I'm doing a thing where it's separate." At that Korra raised her fist and made him cringe as he awaited the customary pain that followed.

_"Calling all units! Level four alert. Jailbreak at headquarters. Officers down. Electrocuted. Convicts are still at large. They are armed and dangerous! Last seen heading East. I repeat! Level four alert. Equalist jailbreak."_

The hot tempered Avatar eased off her attack. "That's not far from here."

She shifted her body forward. A quick glance at him was enough to form her reaction. "Well? Don't just sit there! Step on it Mako!"

Pulling away from the side of the road they set off as fast as the Avatarmobile could accelerate, leaving a set of asphalt-vandalising tyre tracks behind him.

Her voice was loud - compensating for the roar the vehicle produced. "Do you think we can get to them in time?"

"I think so. They're probably just around the corner. There's no way _he'll_ beat us to it!"

Searching franticly, they raced through the empty streets of Republic City. Korra's eyes sprinted from left to right, looking down the streets they passed for the escaped convicts. "Stop!"

At that, Mako stomped those brakes as hard as possible, turning the wheel in all directions, trying not to spin out. "Hey be careful!" She regained her composure, "Do you know what Asami would do to you if you scratched her car?!"

"You said stop!" Focusing on driving, he didn't waste any time changing into reverse and backing up. He turned the car around, pulling a J-turn with precision. The vehicle slowed down and turned down the first street to the left.

She turned to him and slammed the dashboard yet again. "Not this street Mako!"

His eyes darted to the Avatar. "Are you kidding me? You seriously couldn't say this before I turned?"

"They're getting away Mako!" Mako couldn't do anything but let loose a deep grunt. Turning around as fast as he could, they returned to the main street.

Making sure he turned left at the right street, he asked first. "Is it this one?"

They both heard the very loud crash emanating from their destination. "Yeah that's the one! Turn Mako!"

He pulled the handbrake and turned, sending the Avatarmobile drifting round the corner. "Don't tell me how to drive!"

Their eyes fell on the wreckage before them, seeing their fears turned to reality. They were too late.

The car slowly came to halt. They got out and carefully moved to the wreckage, making sure to defend themselves in case the convicts are still up and going or, more likely, _The Devil_ is still around to clean up.

She moved around the smashed vehicle. "Do you think _he's_ still here?"

Mako walked along the other side of the wreckage. "Don't know. Let's ask them, shall we?"

This sight was all too familiar. Four convicts and another, no doubt the getaway driver, lay sprawled all over the road, sidewalk and even on the busted hood of the car.

Korra's frustration got the better of her once again. "How does _he_ do this? Five criminals, all beaten and broken, face deep in asphalt!" Accommodating her banter was a hard kick against the debris.

Mako bent down and examined the wreckage, followed by the surrounding area. "I don't understand how this possible. Look at this. No other tracks, no burn marks, no water, no out of place boulders and no property damage. This car is totalled but there's nothing in the road to crash into and all other objects are untouched."

"Gee, nice work detective. Conveniently narrating the obvious is exactly what helps." She strode over to the unconscious convicts. Their wounds were something fierce, definitely not inflicted by somebody in good mental health.

In the distance she heard a faint grunt. It belonged to another convict, unseen till now, crawling deeper into the shadows. She sprinted over to him, eager to get some info. "Mako, get over here quick! One's still conscious!"

He heard footsteps behind him and noticed he was no longer crawling alone. Was _he_ here to beat him further? He wasn't keen on finding out. He clutched onto the ground, trying to grip whatever he could to get away as fast as possible. The footsteps neared him. He dragged his beaten body as fast as he could.

"No… No. Please. Let me live." He felt a strong grip grab onto him. "No!"

The person above him forcefully turned him onto his back. To his surprise, he didn't see the face of the Devil, but the face of the Avatar. Honestly, who knew which was worse?

She looked at the broken man before her. She was horrified to see the bruises, blood and misplaced bones on this man's body. Her eyes met his, the fear and terror on display made her stomach drop. This man had been beaten and left to crawl along the broken bodies of his fallen comrades. This was torture. Who could do something like this?

Korra cringed at the sight. The fear this man experienced was all too familiar to her. She had experienced it before, at the hands of a nightmare himself, Amon. She couldn't help but feel sympathy for the man before her.

She pushed these feelings aside and reminded herself what she was doing here. "You can spare yourself a further beating. Tell me what happened here."

A pained grin came to his face. "Haven't you already…" he struggled to speak as coughs took hold of his voice. "Done enough to us Equalists… since killing Amon?"

A smirk formed on her face. "Is that what you all think huh? Well then I guess you only have thirty seconds to live." Her grip around his collar tightened and she hoisted him off the ground. "Better fill it with words pal! Who did this?"

He stared her down followed by an attempt to spit in her face. This only boiled her blood more. She dragged him over to the side of the building and slammed him against the wall. Out of his throat came a constipated yell.

"Tell me what I need to know!"

Pain and fear ruled his vocal chords as he spoke. "_He… He _fought like a demon. Didn't ask a question… didn't say a word…"

She groaned at his answer and slammed him again. "I'm not in the mood for the pronoun game! Who is he?"

"I don't know who he was I swear!" She threw him to the floor. "What does he look like?"

He painfully lifted his arm in protest as she neared him. "Stop it please. He… he had blue hair. Very distinct. But that's all I know I swear!"

Mako gripped her wrist. "Okay Korra I think he's endured enough torture for one night. We have what we need. Let's leave before Lin shows up."

She stared at the Equalist. "You're right. Let's leave." They walked back to the car. She quickly turned back. "I'm going to the police station tomorrow. If I don't see you there because you ran away before the police showed up, I'll find you and have you eating through a straw for the next two months. Got it?"

His response was quick, his voice well shaken. "I got it…"

* * *

He opened the faulty door to his old apartment. As per usual, the door never opened big enough to comfortably walk into the small living space, so once more he had to resort to sliding through the gap.

He looked around the old apartment. No furniture, just a fridge he made from the scraps the junkyard had to offer. Although his home was a dump, he has lived in worse conditions.

His eyes fell back onto the tears in his clothes. It was just due to a loss of focus, nothing more. Mental discipline could fix the focus issue but not the tear. He'll have to get some supplies and sew it back up.

He couldn't help but wonder. What would his father say? His own flesh and blood, living in an old, rundown apartment, having to sew his own clothes back up. What a disgrace.

Although his father was a difficult man, he truly missed him. The grueling training, the short temper, the arrogance, oh _King Kai _his arrogance. These were traits he often saw within himself. Although he tried to be polite and respectful, he knew his father's qualities were a mirror of his own.

He's spent five weeks in Republic City. For the first few, he searched for the one responsible for bringing him here, but to no avail. If he couldn't be found, there was no way back. Trunks was stuck in a world he knew none of.

He brushed his hand through his hair. The exhaustion of work took its toll on him and he needed rest. Sleep, that's something he hadn't seen much of lately…

* * *

**Okay so this might make people mad but I've completely deleted the previous version of this story in favor of this one. Sorry about that. But I will make up for it with what is hopefully a much better, not to mention controversial, read :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so the response to my first chapter has been incredible! In the first 9 hours it got 8 new followers which is nearly a third of what I got in the two years it's been up there. Thank you all so very much for that. I will do my best to keep to a time schedule of a new chapter every five days. I know it's only been two days but I finished this chapter early. I'll be taking some time off soon so my updates may come sooner at times.**

**Here's chapter two :)**

* * *

**\- . Offing Purple Haze . -**

**Chapter 2**

"_Devil of Republic City Hospitalises Convicts"_

Korra slammed the newspaper down on the table, shaking all bowls to the point of almost tumbling over. "I can't believe this!"

"Korra! Not at the table." Tenzin rebuttled with a hard stare before regaining his composure. "So I take that you have a problem with this vigilante as well."

She threw the newspaper over the table. Her frustration was clear. "You have no idea. He left a bunch of Equalists in the middle of the street, beaten to near death. How does someone justify an act so violent?" She rested her head on her arms followed by a very audible groan.

"We have a scheduled meeting tomorrow about the acts of the vigilante."

"Oh fantastic. Let's hear the wise wisdom of the council." Korra stated. Tenzin no doubt picked up on her obvious disliking to the members the council hosted, with exception of himself that is. Although, sometimes he was unsure of that as well.

"Thus far, the council seems unanimous in its decision to issue a warrant for the vigilante's arrest."

"It's not completely unjustified." Asami said out of the blue.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, your remark you said earlier about how someone could commit such acts of violence."

She sat up at those words, eyeing Asami as she inspected the article. "What? You think he has the right to do that Asami?"

Korra's striking tone made her shift back a little before speaking. "No, but I do think he has a good motive. According to the paper, two officers were hospitalized in their escape. One of them in critical condition."

Korra slid closer to her. She took the paper and scanned through where Asami was reading.

"Our vigilante could be a metalbender. That explains why there was no signs of other bending."

Asami looked back at the picture of the wrecked vehicle in deep thought. "No. The side and front bumpers of the getaway vehicle are made from a hardened plastic. Cabbage Corp claims they use it to lighten their cars, but it's just to save money. If it were a metalbender the front bumper could only be pulled by the folding vehicle, which isn't the case. That bumper made contact with something."

Asami looked over at Tenzin. "That sure makes the incident much more mysterious, doesn't it?"

"Indeed it does. Although those men maybe got what they deserved, it's not the duty of a vigilante to decide their punishment. Not even the Avatar could be passed of punishment for doing what the vigilante has done."

Korra moved even closer to her, but her motive appeared quite hostile. "That's right! No one should do that and get away with it!"

Asami grew uncomfortable at her closeness but defended her notion from before. "Korra, you did the exact same thing when you first came to the city. Remember the Triads? And from what I heard from Mako earlier, you weren't as gentle with the men from last night either."

"I barely touched him! I just ruffled his hair to get him to talk, that's all."

She turned away from Asami to her teacher. "All I got out of him was a small description. According to him, our_ Devil _has blue hair."

Tenzin shifted at those words. "It just occurred to me that our vigilante might be an angry spirit." he reached over and took the newspaper from Korra. "Just as your description of the previous encounters, there were no signs of any bending to take place. Now I'm no expert but cars don't get smashed to pieces just by driving on a road."

"So you're saying an angry spirit could have done it. I don't know Tenzin. All accounts of angry spirits I've heard of are spirits terrorizing innocent people, not targeting criminals."

"That might be true but we can't overlook it just because it hasn't happened yet. That would explain why they say he has blue hair. One could easily mistake the features of a spirit for just about anything. Just to be sure I'll notify Lin about it."

"What do you think should be done about this Tenzin?"

Asami looked at him. "If this is a person, his power isn't something we've seen before, so don't you think he could be helped to fight for what's right in a much more acceptable way? If we could help him, he might make a very good ally."

Tenzin put down the paper and intertwined his fingers. A frown formed on his brow as he stared into the open space in deep thought.

"Perhaps Asami is right. But for the time being, who or what ever the Devil of Republic City is, he clearly has no regard for the rights of the convicted and is a danger to anyone who dares cross him. The only thing left for us now is: who is he and how do we stop him?"

* * *

"How much would that be?" Trunks asked the old woman.

"29 yuans."

He reached down into his pocket and searched for the little remaining money he had. He pulled out what he could manage and started counting. "Would you sell it to me for sixteen yuans and a small Genimite Chrystal? Give it time and it will really grow on you."

"Sorry kid. Go find sewing supplies somewhere else."

Trunks dropped his head down in disappointment and stuffed what little he had back into his pocket. He continued his trek through the market as he did before, hoping to find something to fix his torn clothes. His only clothes.

His job as a miner didn't pay well. They are far more interested in paying their precious earthbenders than paying him regardless of how hard he worked. Seems Amon's Revolution didn't help much in bringing equality to benders and non-benders. The only difference he made was getting Republic City to having democratic elections, but those elections won't take full effect till the end of next month. Till then, the council still maintained their hold over the city. The rest of Amon's revolution was pointless. Here he was, the prince of an entire race, scrambling to pay his bills and hardly having enough left to eat, let alone fix his only clothes. His father would be ashamed, a prince living as a peasant. But Trunks was all too familiar with this struggle for survival. The world he left behind... No. Stop. He pushed his guilt aside and kept on walking.

He weaved through the hoards of people at the market. The sun had been beating down on him for quite a while now. He could feel the sweat gather along his hairline. A few minutes of flying would solve his problem. But not here. He couldn't risk attracting that much attention. So for the time being he just kept on walking like any other citizen.

He continued his thoughts on his current situation till he felt a slight force against his chest and shoulder. He regained his focus to see a young woman falling to the floor to his right.

"Oh I am so sorry."

He stooped down to help her up.

"No, it's my fault. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"Neither was I."

She started picking up the food which had fallen out of her basket. "Let me help you." he offered. Not waiting for a reply he started putting the food back. He looked up at her as she collected all the food which laid all over the floor. She was quite a beautiful young woman. Dark brown hair slightly covered her stunning green eyes. A blush rose to his cheeks as she looked up at him. Realizing he had been staring, his eyes dropped back down to the task at hand. He picked up the last fruit on the floor. It was a fresh green apple. He stared at it for a few seconds.

He hadn't eaten in a while. No. Stealing wasn't really his thing. Although, it was just an apple. He could just take it.

A very audible growl emanating from his stomach snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked back up at her and realized she was staring at him. He quickly bent forward to place the apple back into the basket. At this she slightly giggled and motioned her hand to him. "Keep it. Everyone needs something to eat right?"

His uncertainty was very clear to her. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah go ahead. It's just an apple."

He stood back up and offered her a hand. She took it and he hauled her to her feet.

"Thank you." she said.

"Your welcome."

"So I guess I'll see you around sometime."

"Umm yeah. Definitely."

She smiled at him and resumed walking as she had before. He too kept moving, only turning back once to see if she was still in sight. She wasn't.

The heat really got to him. He opted to take a break and enjoy his apple under a nearby tree in the park. He plunged down onto the soft grass. His racing thoughts subsided. He laid there staring at the leaves as they moved in the wind while he ate. He couldn't help but sense the surroundings. He could tell the exact position of everyone in the city. Each energy was unique, just as the person they derived from. Some energies were stronger than other. Higher energy levels always belonged to benders, with the Avatar being no exception.

She had the strongest signal of them all. He didn't know much about her. All he knew was that she had a temper that could rival that of his father, but lacked the same discipline.

He noticed that in the distance some energy levels were rising rapidly. At this he jolted up and sighed. "Never a dull moment."

He got to his feet, swallowed the rest of the apple (even the core along with the seeds), looked around and scouted the area for any eyes fixed on him. The coast was clear. He bent down and jumped to a nearby rooftop. From there he ran without being seen.

* * *

"Please. I beg of you. I'll pay more than what I owe next week."

The man wasn't convinced and let loose another fire blast through the shop. "I'm sorry pal. I truly am, but you know the rules. If we don't get our money by the end of the month, we blow off some steam. You my friend are three days late."

"Please stop!" The shopkeeper pleaded all he could, but the two men before him didn't bat an eye.

"Do you wanna know what really upsets me mister Saitama. A man who yells at me. And when I get upset I get angry. And when I get anr-"

A solid grip formed around the gang member's arm before he could finish. "People get hurt." Trunks said to the man under his grip. He placed his other hand on the man's shoulder and proceeded to forcefully bend it in a very unnatural way till a very loud pop could be heard.

"Aghhhhhhh!"

"Slim!" his partner yelled, coming to his aid. As hard as he possibly could he threw a punch aimed directly at Trunks's head. Trunks closed his eyes and simply listened to the cracking and breaking of the man's bones against the side of his face. This was followed by the expected yell of pain that always accompanied such foolish actions.

Trunks still held the man in his grip and tossed him in front of an oncoming Satomobile. The driver was oblivious of what was going on till a screaming rag-doll of a man smashed into his windshield. To this surprise he started screaming himself and slammed the brakes.

Trunks turned back to the man holding his hand in agony. He bent down to his level. "So. Which gang are you from."

The man looked up in horror to the one stooping before him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh you don't huh? Then I guess you're just acting on your own orders." He reached his hand out to the man and took hold of his hair.

He stood up and raised the man from the floor. Just as before, the man screamed as the pain washed over him.

"So if you don't have a big boss then I'll just have to take my anger out on you."

"No please! Stop! It Hurts!"

Trunks grew more impatient. "I'll stop when you tell me where he is!"

"Please! If I tell you he'll do unspeakable things to me!"

"Oh yes of course. Worry about what he'll do later instead of what I'll do right now. Brilliant!"

He shoved the man against the wall of the shop and released his hair, enabling the man to stand. But to the man's terror he wasn't finished. He placed his hand over the gang members mouth and grabbed hold of his lower arm.

"Now listen very carefully. I'm going to take my hand off your mouth and when I do all I want to hear is the man's address of whom you work for. If I hear anything else I'm snapping this arm too. Got it?"

The man blinked away the tears and shook his head under Trunks's hand. "Good. Ready?"

He removed his hand and the man exhaled very loudly. He quickly inhaled. "421 Hendrix Street!"

Trunks released the whimpering man and patted him on the head. "See. That wasn't so hard."

The man slid to the ground and held his hand once more. Trunks quickly looked up as the sirens of the Republic City Police Airship triggered which was quickly followed by a bunch of officers swinging to the pavement from their metal cables.

"Republic City Police! You are under arrest! Put your hands on your head and step away from the building!"

He was surrounded. A choice had to be made. Escape and become a wanted criminal or be taken into custody and be charged for his crimes. He took a good look at the officers. Five of them surrounded him with his back against the wall. Five officers, one door and one meat shield.

He slowly raised his hands above his head. One officer neared him. He extended his cables towards Trunks's hands, but Trunks opted to resist his pending arrest. With his accelerated reflexes, catching the cables were no big deal and with one fluent motion he pulled the officer to him, turned him around and tightened his arm's grip around the officer's neck.

"Be careful now. You wouldn't want to hurt your friend do you?"

"Stand down." the captain commanded.

Trunks slowly moved them both over to the door of the shop next to the one previously smashed to bits by the broken gang members. Still holding the officer, he turned the knob on the door and backed up into the shop. The other officers took a few steps forward, trying to get as close as possible.

Quickly, Trunks threw the officer to his comrades and slammed the door shut. He looked around and saw the shopkeeper behind the counter. Neither of them said a word. He just looked on as Trunks ran to the back door.

The officers kicked the door down. "Which way?" one asked the shopkeeper. Again he said nothing and simply pointed to the back door.

The commander ran out of the door that Trunks didn't bother closing. He stopped in the alleyway and looked in all directions, but there was no sign of him.

"Damn it! He's gone."

His other officers were right behind him. "He couldn't be far."

"Set up an all points bulletin. Suspect is a light purple haired male in his early to mid twenties. Not armed but very dangerous."

"Anything else commander?"

"Yes. Tell Chief Beifong we've found him. The Devil of Republic City."

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**There we go. Chapter two. I hope you enjoyed the read. If you liked it please leave a review and get me motivated. If you didn't like it, leave a review anyway. It's free. Who cares :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Reviewer Questions: **_Trunks could have easily disappeared from the scene without the police catching sight of him, surrounded or not. Even if he needed info, he could have easily taken the criminal with him._

**This is true. DBZ characters are fast enough to move without being seen. However, could you imagine what DBZ would actually be like if they used this ability in every tough situation. No villain would ever be hit by a Kamehameha wave. They would just vanish and reappear behind Goku and choke the crap out of him. In the fight against Frieza, Piccolo could just vanish, appear behind Frieza and A: Snap his neck or B: Energy blast his face off or C: Just poke his eyes out with his nails :) The writers don't make them do that because what fun would it be if Goku just moved out of every attack with his super speed.**

_So this is after present and future Cell/androids were defeated? This is after the Cell Games Saga/Bojack Unbound?_

**Okay, sorry about that. I never specified Trunks's timeline. The Trunks in the story is the Future version of Trunks, a couple of years after he kills the Androids and Cell in his future timeline. Also, just like all the other old movies, Bojack Unbound isn't canon.**

_Though I do wonder if Trunks ever really thought of himself as a prince. I don't think he did, but my knowledge of DBZ is kinda outdated so what do I know?_

**I don't think he sees himself like that either. I meant that Vegeta sees him as a prince and that he shouldn't be living as a peasant in Vegeta's opinion. Sorry for not making that clear enough.**

_but base trunks vs avatar mode would be even_

**Sorry but I don't agree. Anyone who's watched every episode of both franchises could agree that Avatar State Korra at most equals kid Goku in the Tournament Saga from Dragon Ball. Trunks's base form is about the same as when Goku fought Frieza in his base form. Goku is almost just as strong as Roshi is, and Roshi blew up the damn moon!**

_Seems interesting but when does this take place? Just after book one?_

**Yup.**

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**\- . Offing Purple Haze . -**

**Chapter 3**

Darkness was on his tail as he strolled through the streets of the city, searching for a very specific address. He was close. The area was in pretty bad shape. The buildings were old and started crumbling away. This was the poorer portion of the city.

"417...419... Here we are."

His gaze fell upon the thugs posted outside the fortress. Four of them. They're eyes were fixated on him as he strolled up to the front porch. Trunks kept his hands hidden deep within his pockets as he headed directly for the door. The thugs we're having none of it. One moved to the left to block his way.

"This is a private area bub. Get lost!"

"Sorry. I'm looking for my brother's house. He said this was his address."

"Well your brother is delusional." They all started laughing. Another thug thought it would be a good idea to tease him. "Yeah! If you find him in the trash, make sure he stops by to share whatever the fuck he's on!"

He looked at the thug with a very sadistic charm to him. "What's your name?"

"Joseph Lee Sucka Pecker, the forth."

"Quite an unfortunate name. Can I just call you Joe for short?"

"Yeah dipshit. You can call me whatever you like. Better use as much words as you can before your life ends! Am I right guys!"

"Alright I will then. Hey Joe, what's your favorite hand?"

"Why don't you just ask your mom! She knows!" Once again all of them laughed together. Not a good idea.

"Aghhh man. You really shouldn't have said that."

The man leaned over to him, supporting himself by placing his right hand on the railing. "Awww and what are you gonna do you dumb piece o-"

Trunks cut him off mid sentence as he broke off a rather large piece of the wooden railing and jammed it through the man's hand.

* * *

"How many this time Lin?"

She turned to see Tenzin walking through the hoards of medics that were called in to rush the victims to the hospital.

"Twenty-six."

"He's targeting bigger groups now. What kind of criminals are they?"

"Well, some of these men are some of the most notorious criminals in the city. All of them are involved in a crime group very similar to the Triads. They call themselves the Red House Organization. They are believed to have made a vast fortune in extortion and smuggling. We have yet to investigate."

The house was in bad shape. Lots of walls were burnt and demolished. But this wasn't nearly as strong of a sign that they'd been visited by the Devil. No. The big giveaway was all the puddles of blood that covered a very large area of the floor. Tenzin felt very nauseated by the disturbing sight.

"I take that from the pools of blood that he's hitting harder as well."

"Their injuries look about the same as the ones found before, but some unlucky few are bleeding much more this time. One of them is suffering from a broken back. Healers say paralysis is very likely."

Examining the violence that took place a mere twenty minutes ago made Tenzin very unsure about his stance on taking Asami's idea and putting it into action. He knew very well that arresting the one responsible, might not be possible anymore. But maybe there is a way to convince him to change course.

"We've found a very likely candidate for the Devil that matches the description of the vigilante. His name is Trunks Briefs. Today he assaulted two men and took one of my officers hostage. He's still at large."

Tenzin was surprised by this revelation. Not just that they found him, but because he was never informed till now. "Really? What makes you think it's him?"

She started walking towards no apparent destination. "He is estimated to be in his early to mid twenties. He has light purple hair. Also, the injuries on the men he attacked were only slightly less severe than the ones inflicted tonight."

He followed. "And what's your plan of action?"

"We went over to his apartment earlier today, but no one was there. I've already set up a squad to find him and take him down. This squad is an assembly of our most elite fire and metalbenders."

"Do you think that'll be enough? He has proven time and time again that he is more than capable of fighting and dominating some of the most dangerous of people. Not just individuals, but entire groups of them."

She stopped and turned to him, quite hesitant to speak. "I umm- I think I know your thoughts on this. But my men want the Avatar to join the squad."

"Then you shouldn't be asking. I don't want Korra mixing in with this man when it comes down to a physical fight."

"I am also not very fond of having her in my squad, but it promises the best results."

"I don't know Lin. It's far too risky."

"Tenzin, we have to act now! The injuries are getting worse and it's getting more out of control by the second. It's only a matter of time before innocent people get hurt."

He reached up to his beard and took a few seconds to think. "Alright. But I'm going as well. I won't be fighting him, but I want to make sure she is safe."

* * *

She stood near the sliding doors of the airship, waiting for their order to jump. The tension in the room was overwhelming. She looked around at all the officers. Some were just as nervous as she was, others probably had their nerves replaced by the same steel as the cables they bent. There was no time for anxiety. She was the Avatar. She was supposed to be the rock of this mission. After all, that's why Lin had asked her to join.

Lin stood in the command center of the ship, communicating with her ground units as they scouted the area around his apartment. "Do we have confirmation of his position?"

"He just walked into his apartment. It appears he has a faulty door so we'll opt to break it down."

"Okay. Make sure your unit has all exits covered."

"Copy."

The group of fifteen officers moved out of cover and dispersed around the building. An extra five cautiously approached the front door.

"We are in position. Waiting for your command."

"Move in on my call." She took a deep breath. "Three... Two... One"

The leading officer fire blasted the door to the floor. They all moved in as fast as possible. "Republic City Police!" The room was empty. The officer motioned with his hand for two others to clear the bathroom. "It's clear."

He and the remaining two officers rushed round the corner into the only place he could still be. What they found there came as a shock to all.

"It's empty!"

Lin was taken aback as well. "What do you mean it's empty?"

"He isn't in the apartment Chief."

"That's impossible! Search for any trap doors hidden in the apartment."

"There aren't any Chief. Except for a bed and some kind of machine in the kitchen, this apartment is completely empty."

She slammed her fist onto the side of the ship. Korra came rushing into the command center. "What's going on?"

"Get back to your assigned position Avatar!"

"I'm not one of your officers! Now tell me what's going on."

Lin got very frustrated at Korra's stubbornness, but knew better than to expect the Avatar to follow orders. "He isn't there."

"Well then lets find him. He couldn't have gone far."

"Chief! This is unit three! I can see him! He's on the rooftop of the building across the street!"

She turned to the captain steering the ship. "Turn this ship around."

"Yes Chief."

He pulled some levers to his right and pulled the wheel to the left till the opposite building was in view.

Korra hauled herself closer to the window for a better view. "There he is! He's just standing there, staring at us."

"He knew we were coming. Let's go. We need to drop now, before we lose him!"

Korra and Lin ran over to the drop sight at the bottom of the airship to where Tenzin and the other seven metalbending officers were waiting. The metal doors slid open, making way for the officers to repel. They waited till the airship moved over the building before jumping.

To Trunks, it was quite an impressive spectacle. The metalbenders were all connected to the ship as they jumped. Korra and Tenzin didn't have the same safety. They simply jumped and used their airbending to cushion their impact on the rooftop of the building he stood on. The metalbenders grounded themselves on the rooftop a few seconds behind the airbenders.

Lin walked forward. "Trunks Briefs. Republic City Police. You are under arrest."

He stood on the very edge of the rooftop, his back facing the drop off. "_Am_ I now? I didn't notice."

"If you don't surrender we will take you in by force. And if necessary, deadly force."

"Yeah. I'm going to have to say no to that."

"This is your final warning."

"No Chief. It's yours. You must all be wondering what my limits are. I promise you that if you don't fall back, I will give you a small taste of what I can do. And believe me Chief, it's not pretty."

"So be it then."

He leaned backwards. "And so it is."

"Lin. He's gonna jump!" Korra yelled as she ran to stop him. They were little too late. He's body had already disappeared behind the edge of the building and he fell eight stories to the pavement.

They ran to the edge, afraid of what they'd see. But the view that greeted them terrified them even more. He stood on the pavement, staring up at them with a very large smile on his face. "Come on down! We can't fight up there! You're ground units would miss out on all the fun!"

Korra was the first to make the trip to the pavement, and the first to attack. She threw out a large number of airbending strikes. He felt the heavy air pass around him, moving everything not tied to the ground, with exception of _him_ that is.

His first move, was to taunt her. "Come on Avatar! I thought you'd be more powerful than that!"

She ran to him an attacked with her fire. Each blow was precise and powerful, yet he dodged these strikes with much more ease than Amon ever could. She was mere feet from him. A very powerful trail of fire came blasting through her fist, directed at him. He reached out and pushed his hand right through the middle of the heat, enclosed it around her fist, effectively terminating the fire. "What!"

He spun her round and threw her against the wall of the building. This was the signal for the other twenty-eight different benders to step in. The first attacks were long range. Most were fire based attacks.

He moved around most blasts, sometimes trough some of them. He neared the officers. The fire had no effect on him.

He jumped behind one of the officers. "Hi there." He grabbed the man by his collar and dragged him towards another. The man didn't bend at him, knowing very well that he'd burn his fellow officer. Trunks pulled the man forward and flung him to the officer. The collision was hard enough to knock both unconscious. The onslaught of flames continued as he neared others.

His goal certainly wasn't to hurt the officers too much, but it was to display that they were no match. No bender could ever hope to hold their ground against a well trained half saiyan. The foes he had faced before made the benders of this world look like ants, easily squashed beneath the boot of the more powerful.

He rushed to every firebending officer who dared attack, and knocked them out like it was nothing. All while dodging the metal cables trying to grasp him. His focus now was taking out the metalbenders. He looked over to Lin and her unit trying to surround him.

The barrage of cables came down upon him from all directions. He moved at an extremely fast pace to avoid them. This movement pushed him all the way back to the bridge over one of the rivers.

"Now Korra!" Lin yelled.

Suddenly, a vast amount of water rose from the river to consume him. Just as he was about to jump out, the water froze around him.

"We've got him!" Korra yelled.

She and the other officers ran to the bridge. "Okay! I'm going to turn some parts back into water. That's when you all use your cables to tie him up!"

The ground started shaking. The ice started cracking.

"He's somehow breaking free. Korra. Quick, do it now!"

Small holes in the ice formed and water ran out. Large chunks of the ice started breaking free. The metalbenders launched their cables through the tiny holes and controlled them to wrap around Trunks's body. Once all sixteen cables wrapped around him they pulled tight. Korra raised her hands and unfroze the ice.

He fell down to the floor. He laid there, completely wrapped in metal, gasping for air. They all moved in closer as they saw no movement. Trunks looked up at them as they drew closer. He grit his teeth, trying to hold back the anger. His saiyan side started kicking in and he lost some measure of control. His body left the ground and his veins started started bulging.

"Everyone get back!" Korra yelled.

The cables around him disintegrated and so did everything withing a fifteen foot radius. All of the officers were thrown back by the force of his energy. The glow in Korra's eyes started acting up.

She jumped forward and bent as much of the ground at him as she could. These were also easily destroyed by his energy.

He dropped to the floor after calming down a bit. Korra was still in full Avatar state. She started a large air current around her and lifted into the air. She pulled more earth from the ground and threw it at him at incredible speeds. He dodged these serrated rocks by jumping round. He jumped behind a Satomobile for slight cover. The rocks split through metal of the vehicle like butter.

Without a second thought, he picked up a piece of the metal from the car and threw it at her, trying to distract her. What followed was something no one could foresee. The elongated piece of metal smashed through the rock and pierced her on the right side of the middle of her body.

The metal pierced all the way through her body and got stuck about halfway.

The glow in her eyes faded and she dropped to the pavement below.

"KORRA!" They yelled.

Lin was the first one to get to her. Tenzin was right behind her as well.

"Korra! Stay with us!"

Tenzin picked her up from the floor. Trunks came running to them.

"Stay back!" Lin yelled.

He stopped a few meters from them. "I'm so sorry. I thought she'd stop it with her bending."

"She's not a metalbender!"

Tenzin stepped between them. "Stop it! Lin, we have to rush her to the emergency room. She doesn't have long."

"My cables and communication equipment are busted. I can't call my airship captain."

Trunks stepped forward. "I can take her."

"Absolutely not!"

"I can fly her there in under a minute. She'll die if I don't!"

"No way! Tenzin, hand her over to me and try to get the captain's attention."

"You're wasting time!"

Tenzin looked at him than back at the blood stained girl in his arms. "I'm sorry."

* * *

**Thank you all so much for the reviews, follows and favorites. Please feel free to let me know what you thought of this chapter. There's a fun challenge coming up in the next chapter and the faster you get to it the better your chances. If you win you can have your own character inserted into the story!**

**Also, if you have some ideas for this story, please let me know. You can leave it in the reviews or PM me. I'm kind of making it all up as I go.**


	4. Chapter 4

**DON'T SKIP THIS!**

**CHALLENGE: Hidden in this entire story is an X amount of Jimi Hendrix song titles. If you can find all of them, PM me their titles and copy 'n paste the line they appear in. If you get the right answers, you can make up your own character and I will include him/her in the story.**

**Do ****NOT**** post the answer in the reviews. If you do you'll just make it easier for others and I will ****NOT**** count your answer.**

**The first person to find all the hidden titles is the winner.**

**(Song Title)-(Line the song title is in)  
Example: Fire - A very powerful trail of ****fire**** came blasting through her fist, directed at him.**

**(For obvious reasons, I have excluded the song, Fire, from the challenge.)**

* * *

**\- . Offing Purple Haze . -**

**Chapter 4**

Tenzin arrived at the healing room to find Trunks sitting outside, against the wall. He was a mess. His hair was wild and his head was anchored on his forearms, which was supported by his knee.

Tenzin's first response was anger. But Korra was more important. He would have to deal with _him_ later.

He walked up to Trunks and halted before him. "How is she?"

Trunks stirred a little before raising his head to look at the airbender. "The healer said that she lost a lot of blood. The metal pierced through one of her kidneys. They're not sure how bad it is but they say that kidneys heal well most of the time. She'll live."

"I'm going to go talk to the healer."

"They locked the door."

He walked up to the door and tried to enter, but as Trunks said, it was locked. He sighed, turned around and took a seat on the bench across from Trunks, which Trunks had opted not to sit on.

Trunks could feel their gaze drilling into the top of his head. "Do you think they'd be done by 6 o' clock?"

He sat back up. "If 6 was 9, maybe."

Another sigh from Tenzin. This one carried a slight hint of frustration. What was he angry about? Trunks? Lin? himself? He wasn't sure. All he knew is that the person who speared someone he had already considered one of his own children, was sitting right in front of him.

"What were you thinking! How could you do this to her!"

He looked at Tenzin, but didn't say a word. His eyes fell back to it's original position. The floor.

"Are you just going to sit there in silence? Answer me!"

"What do you want me to say huh?" he snapped back. "Do you want me to apologize? Fine. I'm sorry for running the Avatar through with a piece of metal. Happy now?"

Tenzin sat there, grinding his teeth together. "Why don't you tell me what you were thinking when you picked up a metal spear, and threw it at a teenage girl?"

"Alright! And then why don't you tell me what you were thinking when all of us were fighting while you stood on a rooftop and watched!"

He couldn't possibly answer him. Trunks had a point. What was he doing? He knew that his involvement in the fight wouldn't have any difference. All of Korra's airbending couldn't even make him move in the slightest. But perhaps if he was there, things would have turned out different.

"I- I..."

"Yeah. Thought so."

The hallway fell silent. No words were said for what felt like hours. Tenzin looked back up to see him sitting in the same pose he had been before.

He hesitated to disturb the quiet. "I-" He cleared his throat. "I take that after we're done here you'll be turning yourself in to Chief Beifong."

Trunks's eyes lifted up once more. "If that's your take, then you won't be getting what you want."

Tenzin rose to his feet at those words. "How could you not turn yourself in?"

This boiled Trunks's blood. He too rose to meet the old man's stare. "Why should I? All I've done so far was prevent dangerous criminals from harming innocent people. If a convict kills two men and escapes prison, you throw him back in again. It's like setting a stone free on the top of a cliff. That stone collects more and more and then what happens? The innocent people walking at the foot of the drop gets killed. No, when I catch him, I make him wish he never left his cell."

"It's not your job to deal out vigilante justice!"

"Oh and why not? The Avatar does it. Why is she allowed and I'm not. Is it because of her abilities? Because if it is, I got news for you. The glimpse of what I've shown you today, is a mere ten thousandth of what I'm capable of."

Tenzin prepared his next argument but was quickly interrupted.

"I'm here! Sorry I took so long. I ran all the way from arena."

They looked over as Mako came to a halt in the hallway. He was exhausted.

Mako gathered his breath. "How is she?"

"According to him, they say she's going to be alright."

Mako shifted to the left, to see a light purple haired man standing against the wall. "And who is he?"

"This is Trunks. The Devil of Republic City and also the man who ran Korra through with a metal spear."

The expected protective side of Mako kicked in. "You!"

He walked forward, igniting his fists in pure rage. Trunks moved away from the wall to face him.

"I'll tear you apart!"

Tenzin moved to block his way. "Although I don't advise it, you can settle your qualms with _him_ later. Korra's health is a much more important matter."

He gave Trunks a violent stare. Trunks didn't flinch.

Mako finally tore his eyes away. "Fine. I'm going in to see how she's doing."

"It's locked."

He walked over to the door and tried it himself. It was locked. They eventually settled down and took a seat on the bench. Trunks sunk back down against the wall. Their gaze was fixated on him. Both of them.

He shifted at their persistence, sighed and looked up. "What? What do you want?"

Mako sat forward in his seat and placed his elbows on his knees. "Why are you here?"

"What do you mean?"

"No seriously. You almost murdered Korra, and now you're sitting outside her healing room. Why? Is it so you can finish the job?"

"I warned them that if they attacked me I would fight back."

"Oh and that's your excuse. They are the police. It's their job to arrest criminals. Psychopaths as well."

"It's their job you say. You know what's also their job? Busting criminals, catching convicts and protecting innocent people. Do they do any of those? No. I do it for them."

"Oh please. We were right behind those convicts the other night. If you hadn't shown up we would have gotten them ourselves."

"And what about the new triad groups? Have you done anything about them?"

Mako sat back, knowing Trunks had a point. He didn't answer.

"No. I busted the triads. Yesterday I walked into their lair and put all twenty-eight of them in the hospital while you and your girlfriend back there were finger popping each other's-"

The door to the healing room opened and he went quiet. One of the healers stepped outside.

"Mister Trunks."

They all stood up at once. "Yes."

"You can come see her now. She's still under but will wake up soon."

"Thank you."

They walked into the healing. He remained out side. He couldn't bare to see what he'd done to her. He just listened to the conversation.

The leading healer spoke with them.

"Her injuries were very severe. It was a difficult process to remove the metal piece. The metal pierced just under her ribs and went through her kidney. Thankfully, it missed her spine. We managed to heal all damage done to her organ and surrounding tissue. She'll need two more healing sessions to make a full recovery. Thankfully, she's going to be alright."

"That's very reassuring news. Thank you so much."

"It's no problem. When she wakes up she's allowed to leave but she has to take it easy for the next few days. She will feel some pain as the wounds haven't yet healed, but nothing to harsh. She'll have to come in every three days for a check up and a healing session."

"Thank you very much. I will see to it that Korra gets the rest she deserves."

Trunks had heard enough of their conversation to know he no longer has to stay. He stood up, readying himself for his departure, when the head healer walked out of the healing room. She looked around and saw him standing in the hallway.

"You're the man that brought her in, right?"

He looked at her with slight uncertainty. "Yeah."

"You saved her life you know. She didn't have long. If you had called an emergency vehicle, she wouldn't be alive right now."

He nodded his head, as a thanks for her help.

He was very aware that he didn't deserve her praise. If not for him, she would never have been in the situation in the first place.

* * *

What was that smell? Chicken? No. Noodles? No. Fish? Yeah, but there's more. She sniffed the air several times to get a better sense. "Bento."

Her eyes slowly opened. The bright light in the room took some time to get used to. She looked around, taking in the strange room. Was she in the hospital?

She tried sitting up. The sharp pain gnawed at her side, forcing her to lie back down. Her hand reached to the source of the pain. She was in hospital clothing. She felt layer upon layer of bandages around the area. Oh yeah. That's right. Trunks.

She spoke. "Okay Korra." Her voice was raspy, sounding like it hadn't been used in days. "You can do this."

Her self-directed pep talk no doubt helped in hauling herself to a sitting position. She moved to get her feet off the bed. She took a heavy breath and managed to stand up, but not without flinching at the pain.

"Suck it up Korra."

She heard some people talking in the hallway. She recognized those voices. It's her friends. This extra motivation made the painful trip worth it.

She stopped by the door and looked outside to see Mako, Tenzin, Asami and Bolin sitting outside, eating the delicious bento she smelled from her room.

No Trunks in sight. She looked around a bit more to confirm. She remembered Tenzin holding her in arms with a spear sticking out of her abdomen. Then, for some reason Tenzin handed her over to him. _Him!_ The man responsible for spearing her and nearly taking her life, was entrusted to take her to the hospital to save her life. How could he do such a thing? Although, she wasn't exactly innocent either. The serrated rocks she threw at him certainly weren't any feathers. Maybe she's just as much to blame as he. No. Not now. She set her thoughts aside to make contact.

"That looks nice. Did you get me some as well?"

They turned their heads to where the voice came from. "Korra."

They jumped from their sitting place on the bench and rejoiced to see her awake, and already walking.

Bolin was of course the one to dish out the biggest hug. "Korra. It's so good to see you. I mean, I did see you while you were sleeping. No wait. I didn't watch you while you slept. I just meant uhhh- Well, you know what I mean."

The exchanges with the other three went as expected. Mako was all emotional and protective about the whole thing. Tenzin was worried and reassuring about her recovery. The exchange between Korra and Asami was slightly awkward. They were just like old times.

"Hey. Do you guys wanna eat inside?"

"Sure."

Mako and Bolin grabbed their food and headed inside, sitting on the chairs they had brought in earlier. Tenzin walked by and Korra gave him a very reassuring smile that she was alright. Korra motioned Asami to enter, but she insisted. Korra entered with Asami right behind her. She looked down at Korra's backside and giggled.

Korra turned her head. "What?"

"Oh. It's nothing."

* * *

He arrived at his apartment after a long, sulking walk in the cold of the night. His thoughts had been haunting him all night. Why did this bother him so much? He had purposely stabbed many people before. Even murdered some people in cold blood, on purpose. He had always been pragmatic one, willing to do what it takes to solve the problem. What happened to Korra was a complete accident and besides, she would be completely back to her regular, hotheaded self in no time.

These thoughts weren't helping him shake off his guilt.

He reached out to turn the knob on his door, but felt nothing. His hand reached further, but it met no resistance. Oh right. His door. It had been kicked down during the raid on his apartment in their quest to find him. Now all that stood in its place, was some yellow police tape. He tore it off, and walked inside. At least he didn't have to squeeze through as he would before.

The apartment was still the same. No furniture, no food, just his bed and refrigera-... Nope. No more fridge. The cops probably took it when they searched the place as part of their investigation. What did it matter anyway? There weren't any food to begin with.

Food.

That's something he hadn't had a single bit of today. He never had money for it, probably because he hadn't shown up for work in a long time. He ignored the growl his stomach produced and sat down on his bed. His thoughts were the only thing that fed him. Well not _him_ exactly. It fed his anger as he deduced how they found out his name.

The Satomobile he threw the man in front of was driven by someone he recognized. Mr Lue Wang. He chuckled. "Wang." He couldn't be mad at his landlord. The man just reported a crime.

He ran his hand through his hair.

So, is this how it's going to be everyday? Eat an apple. Fight the authorities. Almost kill some people and then go to sleep a hungry, smelly, depressed man. Mostly a hungry one.

* * *

**I NEED YOUR IDEAS! I'm just making this story up as I go along. All I know is that I just wanna write something. So if you have an idea, no matter how big or small, PM me or leave it in the reviews. I'd love to hear your opinion on the story.**

**Best of luck with the Hendrix Challenge. I look forward to it all :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Keep the ideas coming! A lot of you had awesome ideas. Unfortunately, some of them won't work in this story but they led me to some other ideas so thank you for that!**

**Sorry for taking a while for this one. I had a very rough week and couldn't find the time. Also, I completely forgot that this character was in TLOK before book 2 began so I put him in. But let's just get right into it.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**\- . Offing Purple Haze . -**

**Chapter 5**

"So, what do we do now?"

He looked over at Tenzin, anxious for him to announce their plan of action.

"I'm not exactly sure Mako."

Bumi came along and pulled on Tenzin's cheek. "That means little brother doesn't have a clue at all."

He pushed his older brother from him. "Bumi! We are trying to have a serious conversation here. Go play with Meelo outside."

"What? Can't you take a joke?" Bumi took a seat at the table, continuing the discussion Mako and Tenzin were having. "So. What's the problem? Is it that flying guy?"

Tenzin sighed. "Yes. I wasn't aware that you knew he was capable of light."

Bumi's laugh had always been one that annoyed his youngest sibling, and this one was no exception. "You know there's this thing called a newspaper, right? Yeah, they print a new one every morning. The city has been going crazy since seeing him flying with an injured Avatar in his arms. Seems like you messed that one up pretty well little brother."

Tenzin's sigh highlighted his frustration. "Getting the city in a frenzy is the last thing I need right now."

Bumi slumped back to put his foot on the seat. "So what is he? A spirit? Monster? Alien? Hogmonkey?"

"I don't kno-... Hogmonkey?"

"What? You _never_ know what to expect with those animals. There was this one time when me and my platoon crawled through the desert without a drop of water for a week. When we found the only oasis for a hundred miles, we were ambushed by angry sandbenders. I realized that the only way to get to the water, was to drop in from above! So we fashioned together a catapult and with a couple of well trained hogmonkeys we-"

"Enough with your nonsense! Can't you see we are trying to come up with a solution to this vigilante? If you're going to act like a child than I suggest you do it in a sandbox, outside!"

Bumi leaned over to Mako. "Gee. Somebody's a little sensitive. You think it's his time of the month?"

Mako looked over at the older man beside him, clearly unimpressed with his childish acts. He pushed Bumi away from him. "Can we get serious please? This guy is out in the city, doing Koh knows what to any thief he can lay his hands on, and we can't put a finger on him."

"Oh. So this guy beats up criminals huh. That doesn't really sound all that evil to me. They just need a good lesson to help them behave, that's all. Tough love. Why, I remember when I was in my late teens, I was kind of a rebel myself. So the army grabbed me and threw into a burlap sack. I used that lesson to my advantage, and later became the General of the United Forces!"

"Okay, well that little tough love he gives criminals, are broken bones and puddles of blood."

"Hmmmmmm. That's quite a tricky one, isn't it? I got it! Why don't you just throw him into a bag instead?"

Tenzin removed his palm from his face. "What are you saying? You want to convince him into fighting for us?"

"No. I was talking about enlisting him into the army against his will, but that might be a better idea!"

Mako couldn't keep his anger from boiling over. "There is no way! We can't have _that_ with us! He's a psychopath! Just look at what he did to Korra!"

Tenzin tried to calm him. "I am behind you on that one Mako. We absolutely cannot allow such a person to come here and take that anguish he carries around with him and take it out here."

Bumi took his foot off the seat and shifted his body closer to the table. "Oh come on little brother. Even aunt Toph can see the answer better than you can. And she's blind! Although, she does use her earthbending to see everything we can, and her hearing is excelen-. That's not the point. The point is that this guy is already beating up the right people. All you have to do, is ask him to pull his punches."

"I'm sorry. It's not happening."

"Then you're an idiot! Uncle Zuko changed. All he needed was for mom to give him a chance to do it. If you can't understand that, then you're just a big baby and I'm most certainly wasting my time here. I'm going out to talk to the adults." Bumi stormed out of the room. "Meelo! Get the ghost tarp! We've got some scaring to do!"

Once again, a sigh from Tenzin felt appropriate. "I really can't stand him. Does your brother get on your nerves like that as well?"

"Bolin is really a handful. He has an act for getting himself into stupid situations."

"Yeah. Siblings. Where is he? I haven't seen him in a while."

"Oh. He's practicing with the the new Fire Ferrets. Apparently his new team is in his words, 'just, the worst'."

"And why aren't you there?"

"Nah. I quite. I'm gonna try and see if I could make it into Chief Beifong's police force."

"Really? I could put in a word or two with Lin if you'd like."

"No thanks. I don't want to get hired just because I knew the right people."

* * *

The man tripped over his feet as he tried getting away from him.

"Please. You want money? I can pay you."

The ground between them kept shrinking as he neared the extortionist.

The man's crawl sped up. "How much do you want? I'll give you everything. Just don't hurt me man."

Trunks placed his foot on the man's leg, stopping him from crawling further. Two solid hands curled around the man's shirt and lifted him from the floor.

"Please. I beg of you. I only stole it cause my mom's sick and she needs help."

Trunks smashed the man into the wall. Not hard enough to hurt, but just hard enough to let the man know his squealing made no difference to him.

He lifted the man higher, pressing him harder. "Awww c'mon man. I won't do it ever again I swear!"

He looked at the smaller man against the wall. Pity wasn't the word he felt. No, not for men like these. But he wasn't his normal self. What has gotten into him lately? It was just an accident. She's still alive.

He released the man from his hold.

"Are you letting me go?"

Trunks didn't answer. No. He didn't want his feeling of guilt worsen more than it already has. He knew this man was lying his ass off.

His hands burrowed deep into his pockets. His thoughts lingered on. Why? Why did they haunt him so? He took a step back from the crook, giving him one last stare before turning away and heading back to his house. Well, it surely wasn't home. Just a crappy old apartment.

The cops should have already swept through his apartment by now, arresting him and throwing him in prison. Or, at least his landlord should have kicked him out on the streets. Guess neither have the nerve to face him. Although, his water supply had been cut off since the fight.

His arrival at his apartment was marked by the usual sigh. The door still laid flat on the floor, covered in scorch marks and a few scattered Autumn leaves that had blown through the doorless entrance. His weight on the door made it shift from side to side as he continued to his room.

He plopped down onto his bed. He was already out of breath, just by walking. It had been so long since he'd had a good meal.

His eyes traced the wooden support beams on the bottom of the roof as his thoughts lingered on his present psychological state.

Why did he feel this way? He's never had a problem with bringing pain to anyone before. Why? He's been slipping since coming to the city. If he'd been this soft back on Earth, he most certainly wouldn't have been living to see this age of day. His father would have laughed at him, or worse, completely renounced him. Wonder if he would ever go soft...

Maybe it was the lack of food. He felt exceptionally tired. He certainly didn't relish the idea of working in the mines for money again.

Maybe it was time for a change. He couldn't go on like this. His pants had loosened around his waist. Soon, his stomach would resent him as well. Yes. It was time to leave.

But where would he go? What would he do?

The Firenation? No. They're too organized. They probably already know of him and what he can do. How about Ba Sing Se? No. He wants his life to get better, not live in the crappy place he saw the time he flew over the city, trying to find a place to settle down.

His best bet would probably be the South Pole. It's fairly distant from the on goings of Republic City. He wouldn't receive any question from a community so unsettled.

He could invent things. His superior knowledge of technology could be put to good use. Maybe present his ideas to Varrick Global Industries. He could finally make some money, and buy some food which he didn't fish out of the park.

Would that really make him happy? Would it really solve his problems? Would it get rid of the guilt he faced when thinking about _her_?

* * *

A soft knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts about _him._

She quickly ruffled her hair, trying to get all the knots out. She didn't want Mako thinking she was a complete slob just because she took a spear to the stomach.

"Uhh. Come in."

The door slid open, but it wasn't Mako.

"Oh. Asami... So nice of you to come visit." Just what she needed. An awkward chat with her sort-of boyfriend's ex-girlfriend.

Asami chuckled. "Expecting someone else huh."

"What. No." Asami questioningly raised an eyebrow. Korra knew her bluff had been called. She dropped her head in slight embarrassment. "Well, kinda."

She put her hand back on the sliding door. "Do you want me to leave?"

Korra was quick to stop her. "No no no. Not at all." She sat upright and motioned her hand to her bed. Asami accepted the invitation.

"Would you mind closing the door?"

She looked back and noticed her slightly crude mistake. "Oh, sorry about that." She got back up and slid the paper thin door till it touched the wood on the opposite side.

She walked back and regained her seat on the bed. "Guess what. You guys made headlines again today."

"Oh. I couldn't possibly imagine what for. What does it say this time?"

"Well, I don't have the paper here but I think it was, _'Flying Devil saves Avatar from certain death'_, or at least something generic like that."

What else was there to do except give a very condescending snort at such a headline, and make a crude comment. "Really, their still on that? It's been three days already. They should get over it."

"The city has been freaking out about seeing a flying man carry you to a hospital. So have I actually."

Korra kept quiet. Her thoughts about _him_ and what he was capable of, had haunted her thoughts since she saw him lift from the ground whilst trying to escape his metal cable cocoon. She couldn't show her fear of him at that moment, not when all eyes were on her and counting on her power to bring him to justice.

Asami could tell much about the silence that befell Korra after speaking about him. She was quick to change the subject. "So err- How are you feeling?"

Korra looked up at her. "I'm fine."

"Seriously? That's the most convincing tone you could manage? What's wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong. I'm just, not happy about sitting here."

She sighed. "Not happy about sitting here, with me."

"No, that's not what I meant. I meant sitting he-"

Another knock interrupted her half put together reason. "Come in!"

The door didn't open. "I said come in!"

"It's locked." The voice didn't come from the door. It came from the closed wooden window cover.

"Korra? Who's voice was that?"

Korra climbed off her bed, careful not to tear her wounds. She talked softly. "I don't recognize it."

"Is it one of the White Lotus guards?"

"This high up? I don't think so. Run and call Tenzin okay, but don't make a scene. He might leave if he knows Tenzin is coming."

"No. I'm not leaving you alone with _him._"

"Asami. I'll be fine. Trust me okay."

Asami nodded and silently tip toed out of the room. Once the coast was clear, Korra reached out and unhooked the lock to open the wooden covers.

Seeing the man behind the wood made her heart drop to her stomach. It really was _him_.

"Ummm, hi."

"Why are you here?"

He sighed. "I wanted to talk."

"Yeah? Well I don't so you better leave."

"Please. I understand your anger toward me. But I-"

"Believe me pal. Anger doesn't begin to describe it."

"Look. Just give me two minutes and I'll be gone."

She was very unsure. This man has brought her a lot of pain. He put her in a hospital and crippled her for the next few weeks. Although, she did attempt the same thing.

"Make it quick."

She walked back to her bed, stretching out her arm to support herself against the wall. Seeing her, unable to walk properly, brought even more guilt to the surface. She took a seat on her bed and he flew through the opening.

She couldn't help but notice his heavy breath, sounding like he ran and swam here from home as fast as he could. He looked pale as well. Why was he so exhausted? When she fought with him the other day it seemed like no amount of exercise could faze him. Could it be from a lack of food? His clothes certainly showed that he didn't have money for others. Maybe she could offer him something. No.

She pushed her thoughts down under, making her best attempt to ignore what she had deduced.

"So, what is it?"

He sat down against the wall, trying to save what little energy he had left. "I-I want to apologize."

She was surprised at his answer. "For spearing me?"

"Ahh crap baskets."

"I'm sorry what? You mumbled."

He looked to the door and back. He spoke louder this time. "You're backup will be here in twenty-three seconds."

"My backup?"

"Yeah. When your friend ran out of the room, she ran to Tenzin to tell him I was here. I've been sensing their movements."

"Wait. How do you know-"

"Look there's no time. I need to say what I came here for." he slowly stood up from the floor. "Korra-"

The door flew open, with Tenzin and Asami in plain view.

"You! Get away from her!"

Tenzin didn't wait for any response and immediately attacked with a large burst of air. To his surprise this had an effect on him, albeit not much.

"Tenzin wait!"

Korra's command landed on deaf ears as he continued pushing Trunks back from where he came. A much larger force was enough to push Trunks out through the window. He fell two stories to the ground below. Tenzin was quick to follow as he jumped through the window himself.

"Tenzin don't!"

Yet again, her cries went unnoticed. Trunks stood up from the floor. He was in no shape to be fighting, so he would simply accept what ever frustrations the old man had. Soon the White Lotus sentries had surrounded him.

Korra slowly climbed out of her window. Asami reached out and grabbed her around her middle, slightly under her wounds. "Korra. What are you doing?"

"He's not the same as when we fought him Asami. I have to stop them."

She looked down at the tile section of the roof above the door. This is going to hurt. A lot. She pulled herself free from Asami's grip and plunged down to slide off the roof and hit the floor.

The benders had launched a full out attack on him. He half heartedly attempted to dodge the elements coming his way. He got stomped a couple of times by large, speeding boulders from down under, crashing into his ribs. Moving around whilst being moved by Tenzin's airbending certainly wasn't easy. His weakened state meant he could feel the hits, and they took a severe toll on his body.

Korra forced herself to her feet, ignoring the pain and blood by her middle. Her trek to the fight was a difficult one. Then she saw it. He hit the floor. "No."

She increased her pace toward him. "Get up."

He placed his hands on the floor and spit out the blood in his mouth. He pushed himself from the floor, standing tall to keep going ahead. The White Lotus members started with their bending again, and again caught him. He didn't fall yet, he took the pain and kept on dodging.

"Enough!"

Korra summoned all her strength and conducted it into airbending, knocking all off their feet. She moved between him and them.

He managed to get himself off the floor once more. His breathing was even heavier than before. Much heavier. "Wh-What are you doing?"

"Saving your life."

She turned to face Tenzin. "I think you've taken out enough on him."

"Korra, what are you doing?"

"He's not the same man as the one we fought the other day Tenzin. He hasn't eaten in days. I can tell. That, combined with all his, activities, has left him defenseless."

They all maintained their bending stance, refusing to yield their onslaught.

But then again, so did she.

* * *

**Thanks for reading the fifth chapter! I really hope you enjoyed it. If you liked it or have some constructive criticism, shoot me a review or two. I really appreciate it :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm really sorry for taking this long. I got sick a few days ago. This, combined with a real bad case of writers block, made it pretty difficult to write this chapter. Thanks for being so patient. I'll try my best to post a new chapter every 2-4 days.**

**Anyway, let's pick up where we left off, shall we?**

* * *

**\- . Offing Purple Haze . -**

**Chapter 6**

"Korra. Move out of the way!"

"I'm sorry Tenzin. I can't."

Trunks tried to regain his breath to speak, but he was too drained. What should he do now? He has no energy left and he's in quite a large amount of pain. He can't fight back anymore.

Here she stood. The girl who he ran through like a wild animal, was the only one standing between him and a further beating. He could smell the iron in the air, not just from his blood but from the blood dripping from her fur apron. She had torn her wounds to try and save him from being on the further receiving end of their anger. He wasn't the only one in serious danger.

"Korra, please. You're injured. You need help."

"I'm not moving!"

Why was this injured girl still protecting him? She was bleeding something fierce and still opted to stand her ground. She sure was stubborn.

Having the girl whom he had almost murdered himself risk her own well being to save him wasn't something he relished. There was no way she'd move and no way they'd stop their attempts at getting to him. This wasn't right. He couldn't allow her to do this anymore.

He took a deep breath, focusing the little amount of energy he had left.

"I'm sorry Korra."

He raised his flat hand to her neck and delivered a slight but hard hit to the back.

A soft yelp escaped her mouth as she tumbled to the floor. Her consciousness faded as she hit the ground. Her final sight being the benders raining hell down upon the traitor behind her.

* * *

She felt her consciousness return to her, sighing in relief as she nuzzled into the warm blankets around her. In a flash, her thoughts raced through her mind. Tunks. What happened to him last night? She hurried into a sitting position, wincing at the pain in her stomach.

Brilliant rays of sunlight shone through the open window.

It was much brighter than she preferred at such a time in the morning. She clenched her eyes together, opening them once more to adjust to the sharp light.

She looked around at the unfamiliar room she had slept in. She was in the Healing Wing, on the Southern side of the island.

Anger boiled in her veins as she thought back to the happenings of the night before. She hammered her fist to the bed frame. "That bastard! I tried to help him and he thanks me by stabbing me in the back!"

One of the healers overheard her rambling and entered the room.

Korra looked over at the woman in the doorway, trying her best to hide her frustration.

"Are you alright Avatar Korra?" Her voice was soft and gentle, much like the voice of her waterbending teacher, Sifu Katara.

Korra was quick to reply, trying to hide the pain she experienced. "I'm fine. Where is Tenzin?"

The healer wasn't very sure of her decision to give the Avatar such information. "Ummm. He's in room seven, down the hall from here."

Korra put her hands on the bed frame, ready to haul herself to her feet. The woman blocked her way and placed her hands on Korra's shoulders.

"I'm sorry Avatar. Master Tenzin gave me orders not to let you out of this room."

Korra wasn't going to obey this request. Both of them knew this. She reached for the woman's arms and took them off her shoulders. "Then you shouldn't have told me where he is."

"Please Avatar. You're actions of yesterday have worsened your wounds. You need to rest."

Korra reached down to the bottom of her shirt, and pulled it up to see the aftermath of her heroic actions. Her wounds were no longer visible, because they were covered up by heavy bandaging. She tried her best to hide her fear of the serious threat the wound had on her. "This doesn't matter. I need to get to Tenzin."

The healer knew that even in Korra's weakened state, trying to stand against her was pointless. She took a step back, giving the Avatar room to move.

Korra took a second to muster up the courage to resist the pain. She slowly but surely stood from the bed to start her journey to Tenzin's room.

She stumbled when taking her first step, promising to hit the floor. The healer was quick to stop her fall.

Korra was relieved to find that she won't be picking her sorry self off the floor. She regained her composure. "Thanks. I think I'll be able to take it from here."

The woman released her. Korra continued her walk. She reached the doorway and was finally able to lean on something for support. She looked down the hall way, trying to make out which room Tenzin was in.

She slowly made her way to room seven, still supporting herself against the wall as she walked.

At reaching the door, she stopped for a moment to think of what to say to him. He would no doubt be very angry with her for what she did the day before.

How can she justify protecting him from Tenzin and the White Lotus guards? This was, in fact, the man who beat criminals to near death with his bare hands, knocked out most of Lin's squad and managed to almost end her life while she was in the Avatar state.

What reason does she have for holding her ground even when she was in danger of bleeding out? There aren't any good answers to those questions. All she knows is that there was a small voice on the inside, telling her she had to do what it takes to help in whatever way she could.

She took a deep breath before stepping through the already opened door.

Tenzin was sitting on one of the beds, with his arm stretched out to a healer. His left arm was covered in a couple of shades of purple. His breathing was loud as the healer bent the glowing water around his injured arm.

Her uncertainty of the whole situation grew even worse. If Tenzin was in here, then Trunks must have managed to get away from them. Or, he fought back and injured Tenzin but was still unable to escape. For some unknown reason, she was very unsure which was worse. She cleared her throat to get him to turn around.

He turned his head to see who was at the door. He didn't have much of a reaction at seeing her in the doorway. "Korra. Come in." He turned back to the healer. "Would you mind giving us a second?"

She nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Korra took a second to gather her thoughts. She could feel his fictional scowl deepening. She opted to check his emotional state before diving into the question that's been bugging her even before waking up in the healing room. "So, how's the arm."

His gaze fell from her to the mess of blue and purple stained tissue she was referring too. "Korra. I'm not going to be angry with you."

She tried to pass off his implication that he's well aware of what she had been thinking. "I wasn't thinking you were. I just wanted to know."

He chuckled, seeing right through her false words. "It's alright I suppose. There isn't really an upside to having a broken arm."

She couldn't help but feel slightly responsible for the injury, although only being able to guess the cause. Her thoughts returned to the bigger question she had, but she feared to ask. She was very hesitant. "Tenzin, what happened last night?"

He inhaled sharply, deciding on what answer to give her. He cleared his throat. "Well. After _he_ knocked you unconscious, we attacked him with everything we had."

A painful feeling arose from her chest. She felt a slight moisture gather in her eyes, but blinked it away. "So, he didn't get away."

"No." He tried being careful about the subject and took a long pause before continuing. "He wasn't able to withstand our bending."

Why couldn't she push her feelings of sorrow aside when hearing those words? What was it that drew her to feel such despair at simply hearing something she had already deduced? Then it occurred to her. If he wasn't able to escape, he would have to be somewhere in the building. She looked back up at Tenzin. "Where is-"

He knew what she would ask of him, but he wouldn't let her finish. "No Korra. You are not going there."

She couldn't help but want to find him and see in what condition he was in. "Tenzin, just tell me. He's in the building isn't he?"

"I-I uhh."

His stutter confirmed her suspicion. She didn't resume the conversation and opened the door behind her.

He jolted up to stop her, but the pain in his arm was too much to bare. He looked around for the sling the healers provided him with. By the time he put it on, she had already left the room and trekked down the hallway.

She heard him jogging out of the room behind her and tried picking up the pace. The pain in her stomach was too much to handle. She had to slow down.

He rushed to her. "Korra. What are you doing! You can't go over there."

She kept walking through the hall, opening the doors to every room. "If you didn't want me going to him, then you shouldn't have kept us in the same building."

Her stubbornness drove him through the walls, but he knew better than to expect anything different from Korra. "Fine."

She stopped in her tracks. That most certainly got her attention.

He sighed. "If you must see him so badly, he's in room twelve."

He really was in the building. From Tenzin's reaction, he might be in a very bad condition. She didn't say anything, but resumed her thumping through the hallway, looking at the door numbers.

She stopped at the front door of the room marked with the Chinese symbol for the number twelve and knocked on the door. She entered without receiving an answer.

A million thoughts raced through her mind but one towered above all. She wanted to turn back, not wanted to see what he was facing. Against her better judgement, she kept moving, ignoring the pain in her lower body.

Her eyes wandered around the slightly darkened room, searching for her unwanted answer. It fell onto the foot of the bed frame. She traced the wood up to the man lying at the top. She froze at the sight.

It was hard to complete the image of the barely recognizable human figure. His left arm, shoulder and chest were heavily wrapped in bloody bandages all the way up to the lower left side of his face. She could make out his unbandaged torso, camouflaged with dark blue and purple bruises trailing from his ribs to his lower abdomen. His legs were still left untouched, with exception of everything below his left knee. She could make out some faint eye movement below his eyelids and the twitch of his fingers.

Korra couldn't manage to gather a single thought when looking down at the broken man. A heavy loss opened up inside of her. A void. This feeling she had, could be compared to the same one she felt when the White Lotus didn't allow her to go home to visit her parents after the first week of being locked up in the compound.

Why did she feel this unexplainable void? Why did she enter a state of despair when she looked at him? She had no reason to.

Tenzin placed his hand on her shoulder. She didn't even notice him enter. She didn't care.

Seeing Trunks like this was an answer she had not been hoping for. This answer, only brought up more questions. One emotion she did recognized inside herself, was anger. She shoved his hand from her shoulder and turned to face him. "What did you do to him?!"

He was surprised by her sudden burst of anger. "Korra, calm down."

"Don't tell me to remain calm! Just answer me!"

"Alright."

He took another moment to figure out how to tell her without her reacting in the worst way possible.

"After he knocked you unconscious last night, the guards and I unleashed a very powerful set of attacks on him. At first he took them all head on, but my guess is he couldn't take the suffering anymore. So he attacked. We didn't think it was possible for him to have enough energy left to do anything, but he fought like nothing I'd ever seen."

Her breathing increased, afraid of what she'd hear next. "What did he do to you?"

"He broke my arm with a kick. He also hurt the other members. We didn't have any choice Korra."

"What did you do Tenzin!?"

His eyes met hers. "Korra," He paused once more. "One of the guards struck him with lightning."

"He what?!"

"I'm sorry. The first time, he went down, but got back up again."

"Wh-What do you mean, the first time?"

"After he got back up, the guard struck him again. He stayed down longer this time."

"Are you telling me you struck him three times?"

He went silent.

"Tenzin, what happened?"

"Another firebender helped him with the third strike. He… He didn't get back up."

"That's why he is covered in blood-stained bandages, because he's been struck by lightning on four different occasions!"

"I understand the severity of the situation Korra. We didn't have any other choice."

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She could feel the anger slowly draining away. They had no other choice. That was something she could understand.

Tenzin placed his hand on her shoulder. "Korra, may I ask why you are so defensive of this man? A few days ago all you wanted to do was see him rotting away in prison."

She opened her mouth to speak. Nothing came out. She didn't know what to say. How could she answer him when she couldn't even tell herself why she acted the way she did.

"I-I don't know. There's just this little voice that keeps telling me to do these things."

* * *

**I need your ideas, again.**

**I got really frustrated with this chapter because I really couldn't think of anything. Please, if you have an idea, let me know. It doesn't have to be large plot points, it could be a scene in which something should take place, for example: ****KingSora3 suggested that I ****have Korra and Trunks meet in the next chapter (Chapter 5), and that's what I did. So, if you have anything, I would really appreciate it!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Wow. Thank you guys so much for the awesome support with all the reviews, favorites and follows. Writing has been so awesome because of you.**

**I got a lot of great ideas from you guys for this chapter and the next one. Thanks for the inspiration.**

**So without further ado… Chapter 7**

* * *

**\- . Offing Purple Haze . –**

**Chapter 7**

His breath increased rapidly in speed and weight as his nightmares subsided. As soon as his unconsciousness slipped, the pain returned. The sting of the material around his burnt skin coupled with the uncontrollable agony of his bruised muscles as he attempted to move was a hard pill to swallow.

He tried his best to understand more of his situation, but his open eyes didn't help him much. The dark room merely allowed him to make out vague details. His attempts at deep breaths were futile. The tightly wrapped bandages were to thank for the claustrophobia.

If he couldn't see, then his sense would act as his eyes. He was still on the island. The small power levels of the benders were a clear indication of that. Wait. One was close. Very close.

Panic set in as he re-experienced the surge of lightning that flowed through his body. His adrenaline worked overtime as he couldn't take his mind off the experience. His breathing increased even more and his heart rate skyrocketed.

He had to leave. He had to get far away. Not just from here, but from everything. His panic only worsened as he tried moving but couldn't break free from the straps holding his arms to the bed frame.

Straps were but a mere grain of sand compared to the feats of strength he's shown. He attempted once more. It was no use. His injured body was just too weak.

A thump emanated from the corner of the room. This only set his jitters to a higher level. He was definitely not in the condition to defend himself from any threats. His panic intensified. He had to escape!

He heard another noise. This one was closer. His thoughts reached back to the flowing current. This sent him into a frenzy of hysteria. Two hands reached out of the darkness to his upper body.

"Trunks. It's alright." The girl's voice was familiar, but far softer than he'd ever heard it.

He struggled to calm down from his panicked state.

"It's not real. You're safe."

He clenched his eyes in an attempt to shift his focus to something else. Anything else.

He noticed the slight movement of her hands flattening against his chest. Even through all the bloody bandages, he could feel every slight twitch. Warm and reassuring. These were hardly any traits he'd use to define the hot headed girl trying to keep him from going ape.

The slight pressure on his chest was more than enough for him to start slowing down his breathing. When his breathing slowed, his heart rate wasn't far behind.

"That's better. You're doing well."

Her tone didn't hold the same edge as when they talked in her room. It was still the strong and formidable voice that he and all the others have come to know, but oddly enough, it was kind of relaxing to hear.

He felt himself slump back into the pillows behind him. The surprisingly pleasant sound worked well to melt his anxiety.

Her hands slid off his chest as she moved to the wall. He instantly found himself missing her touch. She reached to the wall and flicked the switch.

Both cringed at the sudden bright light shining down on them. After a mild time of adjustment he turned his gaze to her. She hadn't moved from the wall. He guessed that neither of them was exactly sure what to say at such an encounter.

He decided to shatter the silence, but when he tried his hand at speaking, his vocal chords wouldn't come to his aid. All that came out was a grunt, followed by a cough.

She stumbled over to the table next to one of the chairs. He saw her picking up a flask containing some water. He noticed the dry feel of his mouth and came to realise that he hadn't had a drop of water since before he came to the island. His best guess was that that was about two days ago.

"Here. Drink." She opened the flask and tipped it to his mouth. He stammered some words of uncertainty, but the fresh water was a much needed relief, so he guzzled it down. After draining nearly three quarters of the flask, she pulled it away from him. He swallowed the last mouthful before clearing his throat, trying his luck with speaking once more.

"Thank you." His voice was still raspy. But at least he could talk.

She screwed the lid back on. "You're welcome."

He knew she would have some sort of vendetta against him for everything he's done. Why would she help him like this? He surely wasn't waiting to find out. "So, I guess you might be pretty mad at me."

She could feel his questioning gaze on her. "Well, I was. When I first woke up I wanted to choke the life out of you. But I guess you've already received enough punishment for one day."

A chuckle at her reaction to their previous encounters seemed appropriate. He recoiled at the sharp pain caused by his movement. He tried to steer her away from his painful groan. "What time is it?"

She looked around to find that there weren't any clocks in the room to identify the time of day. "Not sure. I guess it's around midnight."

His thoughts dwelled on the happenings of that night. "How long was I under?"

"The fight happened about two nights ago."

"So I've been out for more than two days. That's reassuring."

"Believe me. It could be much worse. No one has ever survived four lightning strikes in a row. That panic attack you've just experienced, is a symptom from being struck by lightning. Posttraumatic stress disorder. It only occurs in about a third of lightning strike survivors. You're lucky to be alive right now. "

He looked down at the bloody bandages covering his upper body. "Yeah. I'm the personification of lucky."

"Maybe you're not lucky, but I'm guessing you're hungry. I'm going to the kitchen to get you something to eat. I'll be back in a while. Take it easy while I'm gone."

She didn't wait for a reply as she walked over to the door. He noticed the slight hesitation in her walk. He could tell that her wounds were still a heavy burden. Even with her injured state, she was still helping him. Why?

She disappeared from his sight. He was now alone in the room. This was the time to figure out an escape plan. He turned his attention to the straps around his wrists, ankles and mid-section. No wonder he wasn't able to escape.

The straps were heavily reinforced, a combination of material and cables. His flesh was protected with a lining of soft fabrics. They were covered by some stronger materials lined with metal cables. Those cables were attached to the bad frame and the floor.

He gave a snort at the ironic situation. Although the Avatar has unreasonably showed him some hospitality, he was still a prisoner. Honestly, he couldn't really blame them for being cautious.

He was certainly far too weak to escape. He'd just have to wait till his strength recovered. It wouldn't be long till he was back to his old self. Actually, he'd be even stronger from the power boost he'd get from such a near death experience.

He settled into the comfort of the bed. It was much softer than the bed in his apartment. He closed his eyes to take the time he had to unwind. The past week has been a very testing one indeed. He could use the rest.

* * *

"Hey. Wake up."

He awoke from his short nap. He opened his eyes to see her standing next to his bed with a tray. She bent down and set it down on the small bedside table. The smell of the delicious food beside him filled his nostrils.

"I'm guessing you're not planning on feeding it to me, are you?" He motioned with eyes to his hands.

She looked over at the straps holding his hands to the bed. It was Tenzin's idea to restrain him. She actually stood by it.

"I'm not going to bite you if you are going to feed me."

The thought of actually feeding him like a baby was definitely not on her to do list.

She snorted. She knew what game he was playing. "Like I'd give you the pleasure of feeding you."

She reached down and unhooked the metal cables from the floor and the bed frame, setting his right arm free.

"Thank you." Although it was just one arm, it was more than enough.

He noticed her tense form as he reached over to the bowl of food. He looked inside to see what she so kindly brought to him. There weren't any meat. He wasn't one to be picky, but something other than vegetables and rice would have been nice. But, it's better than nothing. He picked up the chopsticks and dug in.

Korra walked over to the chair in the corner of the room that she had fallen asleep on. She sat down and watched him gulp down bowl after bowl. She thought back to what she had deduced back in her room before Tenzin barged in.

"So. Why haven't you been eating?"

He stopped his chew attack and swallowed before speaking. "I don't know what you mean."

"Yeah. I think you do. When you came to the island I could see you weren't eating like you should have. You were pale and extremely exhausted. So what gives?"

He sighed and put the bowls on the table. "It's stupid. You wouldn't believe me anyway."

She slightly tipped her head to the side, intrigued by his words. "Tell me."

He gathered his thoughts. "Okay. I don't have any money."

She raised her eyebrow. "That's not a valid excuse. When I first came to the city, I didn't have money either. So I just fished out of the pond in the park. Someone like you wouldn't have trouble hunting."

"I have fished there. A cop saw me so I ran."

She moved the chair closer to his bed. "There are a lot of other places to hunt for food. What's the real reason Trunks?"

"Okay. You want me to be completely honest." He paused for a moment. "It's because of you."

This bold accusation caught her off guard. "What? Just because you speared me you feel too guilty to eat?"

"No! It's because you haven't been doing your job."

"What do you mean I haven't been doing my job?"

"Do you know how many criminals I bust every day? I stopped going to work to earn money because I was too busy tearing down the criminal establishment of this city."

"So you're saying that you were so busy fighting crime, you didn't even have time to eat. That's so stupid."

"It would sound stupid to you. That just shows me that you have no idea how much crime actually runs this city. I had a good plan. I'd spend my first few weeks demolishing the crime in the city. After that was finished, I'd be able to focus on building a life of my own."

"That's ridiculous! There isn't that much crime."

"Believe me Korra. For every criminal that you've heard of because of what I've done to them, they are but a mere twentieth of the criminals that I've paid a visit to. Eating isn't my top priority right now. I've gone longer without food than this."

"Trunks. How could you possibly think that you could cure a city of crime by yourself?"

"If I don't do it, who will?"

His words shook her. She knew he had a point. She hadn't really done much about the everyday crimes in the city.

"You know. When I was a kid, two people attacked the place that I called home. They murdered everyone except for my mother. I've trained all my life to stop them. I killed them, eventually, but that didn't bring anyone back. Everything we loved has been lost. When I came to this city I had a choice. Either I ignore the evil, or I prevent what happened to me from happening to anyone else. You can guess which path I've chosen."

His words stuck a very unpleasant chord within her. "Trunks. I err-" She stammered quite a bit. "That sounds awful. I couldn't imagine what that must be like."

"Settle down. I don't want your pity Avatar."

She noticed the shift in his body language. He broke eye contact and and slightly shifted from him.

"I might not know what it feels like to lose all those people, but I do know how it feels to be separated from the ones you love. When I was five, the White Lotus took me away from my parents. They locked me up in a compound in the South Pole. After my first week, I wanted to go home so badly, but they said no. I only saw my family once or twice a year."

"That's rough. I guess neither of us had the picture perfect childhood huh."

She pulled her knees up to her chin. "I guess not." He could hear the feint traces of a lot of bottled up pain behind those words.

Both of them settled into the silence. He looked over at her. Her eyes were downcast to the floor, staring at nothing in particular.

"Can I ask you something?"

She broke her chain of thought and looked back up at him. "Yeah."

"Why are you being so nice to me? I thought you'd be furious because of what I did."

"Well, it's not that I'm not angry about what you've done. I just-" She took a long pause. "I just want to help you."

"And why is that?"

"Because you want to help others."

He sat in his bed quietly, clearly focusing on something. He pulled his left arm to him with as much strength as he could muster. The small meal and time to rest would hopefully be enough to boost his power a little. The cables broke free from the floor and the frame and the entire bed shifted from the recoil. He barked at the pain in his muscles as he moved, cursing himself under his breath.

He exhaled and turned his focus to something besides the pain as he sat back into his bed. "Sorry, but that's been bothering me for a while."

* * *

**There we go ladies and gentlemen. As I've said so many times before, PLEASE SHARE ANY IDEAS YOU HAVE! I'm starting to get a bigger picture of where this story is going, but I need much more ideas if i want to make this a 15-20 chapter thing.**

**Hope you enjoyed the read. Until next time :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry about taking a bit longer. Here's chapter 8, whoooohooooo (****°0****°)****╯... You didn't woooohhh with me, did you? :(**

**No matter. Oh, also credit to Lukap99 for sponsoring some dialogue which got a good chuckle out of me. Also thanks to everyone who's been supporting this story with reviews and favorites and follows! You guys are EPIC! Also... if you haven't done any of those things, you're still epic. It's just uncapitalized...**

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**\- . Offing Purple Haze . -**

**Chapter 8**

Trunks tried putting as little weight on Korra as he possibly could. She held on tight to his wrist, his arm suspended over her shoulder as she walked him to the dining hall. Carrying more of his own weight than she said he should've was an agonizing experience for him. With every step his muscles shouted at his brain to stop, but he knew full well that she had not yet recovered from their first encounter. So for now, he'd have to suck it up.

He made his best attempts to ignore the feel of her body moving against his. The prickle of her warm breath against the back of his hand certainly didn't make it easy to take his thoughts off their physical touch. Maybe some talking would get it off his mind. "Are you sure it's a good idea for me to be eating in their dining room?"

"Of course. Pema invited us to a good meal and I already told you that Tenzin is at a council meeting."

"With exception of you, most of the people here pretty much hate my guts. I'm not exactly looking forward to sitting around a table with them for half an hour."

"Would you just relax already? Pema is seriously the nicest person in the word."

They stumbled up to the doorway leading to the dining room. She stopped them before they entered the view of the airbenders. "Korra, maybe you should just leave me. I'll find my way back to the healing wing."

"I told you to relax. All you have to do is be yourself, without the fighting part."

He took a deep breath. "Alright. It's just a meal with some kids. It can't be that bad." His words were more to himself than to her.

"Okay. When you're done chanting to yourself, can we go in?"

"Ha-ha. Pretty funny."

She walked them into the doorway, in full view of the family. Pema sat at the table with her little baby Rohan, along with Bumi and the three airbending kids. Thank goodness. No Tenzin.

Pema immediately registered the two figures in the doorway. "Korra. You two made it. I was starting to think you got cold feet."

He felt his tension melt away at the comforting gaze of the woman. She walked with him to the table.

"Let me introduce you. This is Pema. That's Meelo, Jinora and Ikki. That is uncle Bumi and the baby is Rohan." He immediately recognized the name as one that's very similar to his old master and friend, Gohan. "You guys, this is Trunks."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He said while bowing the lowest his injured body would allow.

They all greeted him in return. Korra took him over to the open side of the table that was left open for them. Immediately after they sat down at the knee high table Ikki bent over to Trunks.

"Why do you have blue hair?" She took a sniff through the air. "And why do you smell like metal? You're weird."

He certainly could respect her forward attitude. In a strange way it kind of reminded him of his mother. She never had a problem with being so up in your face about anything.

"I don't know." He snickered. This was obviously a lie. The hair was genetics and the smell of metal was probably iron from the bloody bandages under his shirt. But explaining those to a little girl in front of her mother definitely wasn't a good idea.

Bumi shifted a little closer to him. "So you're the trouble maker huh?"

Trunks swallowed the knot in his throat. There's never a good answer to such an accusation, especially not when it's correct.

Pema reached over to him and bumped him on his shoulder. "Bumi. Trunks is here to eat lunch as a guest. Not to sit here awkwardly whilst you cover some topics which shouldn't be discussed at a dinner table."

"I'm just making conversation with the guy." He leaned over to Korra to whisper something. "Pssst. I got a burlap sack in the other room just in case this dinner goes south."

She gave him a slight elbow on the arm. "Hey, he's just here to eat."

"So Trunks. Korra told me that you have quite the appetite. So I made you some extra food."

He couldn't hide the blush. "Ummm thank you miss-…" He quickly tilted over to Korra in a whisper. "What's her last name?"

"Last name? You mean like the things the Beifongs have?"

"Yeah."

"I don't think she has one."

He drew back. "Thank you ma'am."

"Trunks. You can just call me Pema." Her friendly gaze and smile was enough to put him at ease with the choice to eat with the family.

* * *

"You're not human." Korra said as she watched Trunks stuff another mouthful of rice and vegetables into his mouth.

"Well, my dad was an extra-terrestrial prince of a long dead race, but my mom was human, at least."

"Oh, har dee har."

"If only I was kidding." He mumbled, glad to see she didn't catch that.

Meelo climbed over his older sisters to sit next to Trunks. "So everyone's been going crazy about you being able to fly. Are you an airbender too?"

He tried his best to play off the little boy's choice of topic before something caught his attention. His eyes widened at the realisation. He quickly swallowed his food and turned to Korra. "Korra. We have to go now." He was sure to keep his voice quiet.

"What? Why?"

"They're on the island. They will be here in twenty four seconds from now. If we leave we'll just miss them."

"Who, Tenzin?"

"We have to go Korra."

He slowly tried his best to stand up but Korra's strong grip on his wrist kept him down.

"It's not going to matter. He's gonna find out you ate here anyway. You don't have to panic. He's not going to call you out at the dinner table."

He ran his right hand through his hair and started counting down their arrival. Korra fixated her eyes on the doorway, listening to his whispers.

"Four… Three… Two… One…"

Her suspicion was completely unjustified as just as Trunks said, Tenzin walked into view from behind one of the walls.

"Hello everyone." Tenzin walked into the room, paying no attention to who sat in it. Clearly, something else has been occupying his mind. He bent down to give his wife a quick kiss before taking a seat next to her.

"The council meeting ended earlier than expected. I hope there's some food left for…" He trailed off when peering over the table, seeing Trunks sitting at the opposite side. "…You."

Trunks looked back at him and met the older airbender's stare with one of his own. The light chatter fell silent as everybody awaited the conflict.

Korra cleared her throat before trying to stop the anticipated clash between the two. "Now Tenzin. I know this-"

"What is _he _doing here?!" He interrupted her. "Wh-What are you doing in my home?!"

Before Trunks got a chance to speak, Korra was already on it. "Tenzin. He's just here to eat something. After we're done, we're going back to the healing wing."

"Korra. You brought a criminal to have a meal with my family!"

"He isn't like that Tenzin."

"Oh, you know full well what he is."

Trunks pushed himself up into a standing position. "Hey. I'm right here. If you want to take your frustrations out, don't take it out on her, take it out on me."

Tenzin got up from his seated position, trying to size up his physical intimidation. "You keep quiet! You can talk when you're in court, being prosecuted for your crimes!"

Trunks took a very deep breath, trying not to let his anger get the best of him. There were children around after all. "Thank you for the meal miss Pema." He bowed his head.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

"I'm leaving. You're welcome to try and stop me."

Tenzin didn't have a response. He just grit his teeth and tried remaining calm in front of his family. Trunks turned to walk out. When he tried putting some wait on his left leg, he stumbled and nearly collapsed. He would have, if not for Korra reacting fast enough to catch his fall. She pulled his arm over her shoulder and walked with him while the family just watched them exit the room.

When they were no longer visible, Pema shot her husband a very aggravated look.

He sat down. "What?"

"That man has already been through so much. He could do without your persistence on blaming him for everything."

* * *

They stumbled back into his room in the healing wing. She guided him over and he heaved himself back onto his bed. He hissed at the pain in his muscles.

"We should probably take a look at those wounds."

"I had a healing session early this morning."

"Well, what harm is there in another. I'm a healer as well. I learned from sifu Katara, the best there is."

He pondered over the idea for a short moment. "Well, I suppose another session is won't hurt."

He tugged at the lower end of his shirt and tried to hide the groan from the pain when trying to raise his left arm. She could see through his bluff and knew she was needed. She took a step closer.

"You need some help with that?"

He looked up at her and shrugged it off. "Nah. I got it."

"Relax tough guy. I won't bite."

She took his right hand away and took hold of the lower part of his shirt. She reached up to his left arm and gently raised it a bit higher.

"Just hold it like that."

He complied and also raised his right arm. She put her other hand back on his shirt and lifted it over his chest. He elevated his arms some more and she pulled it over and off him. This revealed the blood stained bandages covering his upper body.

"Wow. You said you had a healing session this morning. It looks like she stabbed you instead of healing you."

"Yeah. It's from all the moving around."

"I can't believe they went all out on you like that. Normally someone just has a couple of bruises from the fights."

"Yeah. This happened after I, err… knocked you out."

She decided not to draw any attention to the slight stutter he had when referring to his actions of that night. "I wonder what's underneath."

She started unwrapping the bandages. He tried to hide all signs of pain every time he had to lift his arm when she needed it out of the way. After unwrapping his upper body she took a moment to observe the injuries. His body was full of bruises and cuts. They weren't as extensive as the ones she saw on his lower abdomen when she first noticed his injured body lying in the bed.

"I'm not gonna lie. These injuries look pretty bad."

"It's not that bad. I got a pretty cool souvenir from the experience on my left arm."

She reached out and pulled those bandages off him as well, only to reveal a lightning scar covering most of his arm.

He pulled his arm sideways to get a better look himself. "Back home it's called a Lichtenberg figure. It happens when a high voltage surge of electricity enters your body. While the current travels through your muscles, it bursts the blood vessels. So, that leaves behind a lightning shaped scar. My mom once got one when her work on a machine went south. Don't worry. It's only temporary."

"I know what it is Trunks. I had a healing class about lightning strike survivors."

She moved her hand to the tap, using her bending abilities to pull some water from it. The water flowed through the air and over her hands, starting up a very unusual glowing aura. He noted the similarities between it and the aura of the Super Saiyan transformation. With the exception of colour and the power up, it shared one important quality. Healing.

"This might sting a bit."

"I can take it."

She placed her hands on his torso. He clenched his eyes and grit his teeth at the unpleasant feeling. But the pain quickly turned to relief as the water seeped over his burnt skin. He couldn't place the feeling. It was a strange feeling. What really made him uneasy, was the fact that the feeling could be pinned on the healing water, or something less to do with the water and more with the healer. He took a deep breath and tried his best to set aside such thoughts.

She worked her way from his chest to his lower abdomen, relieving his wounds and simultaneously washing away all the dried blood. Even with such little food over the past week, she could still admire the powerful muscles that rippled in his upper body every time he made just the faintest of movements. She knew he was in good shape, but the shirt he wore everyday certainly did a fine job at hiding what lied underneath.

Her eyes traced his body all the way to the top, where she was met by a soft gaze. Her upbringing in the Watertribe had made her used to blue eyes. But his was different. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was somehow different.

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**There ya go folks. Leave a review and share your thoughts on where I'm taking this story. Do you love it? Do you hate it? Do you mixed feelings? If you don't like it, let me know what you want to happen in the following chapters. If you liked it, let me know anyway. It's free. Who cares?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Yeah. So this one took a little longer than I wanted it to. Really sorry about that. Thank you guys so much for all the reviews and favorites and follows! You guys really make my day and get me motivated to keep writing :)**

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**\- . Offing Purple Haze . –**

**Chapter 9**

Tenzin paced down the hallway, practising his words over and over. The situation was a terrible one to deal with. They all knew that Trunks's impending trial was inevitable, but being the one to carry the message wasn't a small task. Dealing with someone as dangerous as him was already hard enough, but now for him to brain wash Korra into taking his side was unacceptable.

He neared Trunks's healing room. He could feel his pulse quickening. He kept his steps light as he walked. Feint laughter could be heard coming from the direction of his room. The girl's voice sounded awfully familiar. He hoped it didn't belong to the girl it sounded like. He stopped at the door to take a peek inside. He couldn't believe his eyes.

His sweet little Jinora sat on the chair at the foot of Trunks's bed, with him and Korra sitting cross legged on it. He felt his anger take hold of him once more. This seemed to happen quite often with _him_ in his presence.

"Jinora. What are you doing here?"

They went silent to look over at the angry airbender standing in the doorway. "Oh. Hi dad. I was just here talking with them."

"Well, you're going have to say goodbye now."

"But daddy, why?"

"Do as I say Jinora."

"Alright." She got to her feet and turned to Trunks. "Bye Trunks. I've got to go."

He waved her a goodbye and she shuffled passed her father, who angrily watched her with a keen eye. After he made sure she was far enough he let loose. "What was she doing here with you?"

"Relax Tenzin. I invited her over here to come and talk. She's very smart when it comes to machines and things and Trunks knows a lot about those kinds of stuff. So I-"

He cut her off midsentence. "You thought it was okay for her to be here with _him_?! You've already infiltrated Korra's mind with your games and now you're doing it to my daughter as well!"

Korra practically jumped from the bed, enraged by Tenzin's accusation. "What do think he is? You think he's some kind of monster that just tries to kill everyone he meets?"

Trunks placed his hand on her shoulder and she turned her attention to him. "It's alright." He turned to face Tenzin. "I'm sorry sir. I get it. You're a concerned parent. I won't talk to Jinora again."

Tenzin got caught off guard by his apologetic response, but tried to maintain his angered composure.

"I'm guessing that you didn't come here searching for your daughter."

"How could you possibly guess that?"

"Well, you just came directly from downtown city hall on your sky bison. You also haven't stopped by your home yet, so you wouldn't know that Jinora wasn't in her room reading some books."

He was right. Tenzin had been in a council meeting just before flying to the island on Oogi. After that he went straight to the healing wing.

Tenzin tried his best to shrug off the creepiness of what Trunks was saying. The less he knew about him, the better. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Well yes. I was at a council meeting. They want you to stand trial at the beginning of next week. We agreed to give you some time to heal. You have three days of freedom left."

Trunks shifted his posture more to him. "What will I be charged with?"

"You are being charged with multiple accounts of assault, battery, resisting arrest, reckless endangerment, destruction of private and city property, attempted murder and a bunch of others which I won't name because of time constraints."

Trunks didn't flinch when hearing this. "Seems fair enough."

"Yes. You're days of harming innocent people are over."

"I take that you can't wait to witness my execution. That sounds pretty out of character for the great master Tenzin I've heard of."

Tenzin shrugged at the comment and stormed out of the room without saying another word. They listened to the light thumps of his footsteps getting softer and softer.

Korra turned to him. "How do you find out that you're going to stand trial and act like nothing happened?"

He cocked his eyebrow slightly. "You sound surprised that they're going to try me for my crimes."

"Well no. We all knew that you were going to stand trial and most likely end up in prison."

"And what are your thoughts on that?"

"On what? You standing trial?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know. Before I met you, I definitely couldn't wait for that day to come."

"And what about now?"

She stood up from the bed and paced round the room. "I don't know. Now that I've actually got to know you a bit better, I don't feel as strong about it as before."

He dropped his head slightly. "But you still want me there, don't you?"

She walked over to the chair and pulled it closer to where he was sitting. "Honestly? Yeah I do. You've still hurt a lot of people Trunks. Although he and I are kind of on opposite sides on this whole subject, Tenzin was one of those people. He's like a second dad to me, so you breaking his arm isn't something that I'm all too happy about. But I know that was justified, so I can't blame you for that."

"If you feel this way, why are showing me such hospitality?"

"Probably because I can kind of relate to your situation. You've been giving all you have for this city. And just like you said, you've been doing what I've failed to do."

The mood in the room quickly changed at those words. He felt slight guilt in blaming her lack of affirmative action for the state the city was in. He knew she'd taken his words with a bit more than a grain of salt. She didn't choose to be the Avatar. She was still a teenage girl. It just wasn't fair.

"Hey. Do you want to go for a walk?"

Her downcast eyes moved from their position as she considered his proposal.

"Yeah, if you're up for the challenge."

* * *

She was thankful for his recovery speed and hers as well. Her wounds have finally completely healed making walking much easier. Although he still couldn't walk without some support, he was at least able to hold his own weight. They slowly made their way to the cliffs on the West side of the island, the point furthest away from anyone else.

At reaching it, they opted to take a break and sit down for a while. They watched as the last strips of orange sky slowly disappear behind the horizon, only to be replaced by an ever darkening atmosphere.

"Beautiful, isn't it." She said.

He turned his gaze to see her still looking out over the ocean. He kept silent for a moment, taking in her features. "Yeah, it is."

She noticed his slight stare and looked over at him, catching him in the act and succeeding in making him blush slightly.

"Hey Trunks. Can I ask you something?"

He shifted a little, unsure of what she'll ask of him. "Ummm sure."

She knew that he might he's been avoiding the topic the past week, but she needed to know. "It's about the flying."

He chucled slightly. "You wanna know how I do it."

"Yeah." She was relieved at hearing his light tone about the whole subject. "Could you show me?"

He took a moment to ponder over the idea. "Alright. Would you mind giving me a hand?"

"Of course not."

She stood up and held her right hand out. After he took it she hauled him to a standing position.

"Are you really up for this?"

He took a step closer to reduce the gap between them. She didn't move away. He placed his arm round her waist. "Are you up for this?"

She placed her hands against his chest, stepping back slightly. "Wait. I didn't mean you should take me with you."

"I know. But you trust me, don't you?"

She felt the urge to just take his arm off her and plant herself in the ground, but at the same time, the urge to just wrap her arms around his powerful chest and nuzzle into his touch. She hesitated for a moment more, but when she looked up into those eyes of his that chased her heartbeat so, she felt his comforting gaze take hold.

"Alright. I trust you."

She closed the gap between them and slid her hands over his shoulders and around the back of his neck. He tightened his hold around her waist with both arms. He gazed the depths of her eyes for a few more seconds before closing his. His eyes were closed in a mere moment of focus before re-opening them.

Her grip tightened around his neck as their feet slowly left the ground beneath them. Her feet longed for something beneath her to hold her weight up. He felt her slight flutter. "Place them on top of mine."

She fumbled her feet round, trying to correct the imbalance. She felt his and placed her weight back on top of it. She was surprised at the solid platform it provided. They slowly lifted higher into sky. She watched the details grow smaller as they ascended. She looked over at the proud standing tower of the island as they slowly passed it as well.

Her nerves started buckling beneath her. "Okay. Let me down. Let me down."

"Korra. It's alright. Don't pay any attention to the rest of the world. Just keep your eyes on me okay."

His tone of voice was gentler than she'd ever heard it. She loosened her grip slightly. She looked up at him. Those comforting blue eyes of his sent a wave of calm over her. She could get lost in them. Something about them always made her heart skip a beat. Sometimes two. Their height increased even more, to the point where the only competition were the mountains surrounding the city.

"This is incredible Trunks." She said with a voice far softer than she'd planned on.

He didn't say anything in return. Just watched her. All her slight movements she made. Those magnificent blue windows to her soul. His thoughts calmed. They weren't important. All that mattered, was being there with her.

She realized their closeness to one another. They're noses mere inches apart. The urge to just close the gap grew ever more tempting.

But she had to remind herself. This wasn't the time. It wasn't the person. In three days he'll receive a life sentence, or face possible execution. If that wasn't enough, what about _Mako_? What _about _Mako.

She pulled back slightly. "Hey, can I ask you something else?"

"Yeah?"

She was still for a moment before continuing. "Do you get lonely sometimes?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, being so different from everyone else."

"I do sometimes."

She noticed the sudden halt in their movement. She looked down to see they were back on solid ground. Well, not exactly ground. They were still very high up.

"Are we on Aang's statue right now?"

"Yeah. I'm guessing that you've never been up here before."

She released her grip around the back of his neck and slid her hands off him to step off his shoes and sit down. He followed her lead by sitting down as well. They stared at the lights burning in the buildings of the city. It was quite the sight.

"This is something I'll never get used to."

She shifted slightly closer. "What do you mean?"

"The lights of such an active city. Where I grew up I never got to experience what a city so full of life was like."

"And where was that?"

He sighed and his eyes fell onto the floor. "Far away from here."

From what he'd told her, he had an extremely difficult upbringing and that nerve was better left untouched for the night.

"You know, the stars here are pretty beautiful. I mean, not as much as when at the South Pole, but it's still something."

He raised his eyes from their downcast position to look at the thousands of small dots above him. They were pretty beautiful. He'd never really taken the time to admire them before. He took the opportunity and laid down flat on his back. She caught on to it and decided to follow his lead. She lay down beside him and shifted the back of her head into his arm.

His first instinct was to pull away, but he figured that she knew she was resting her head on his arm and wouldn't do it if she felt uncomfortable with it. So he kept it there as they both stared up at the stars. Neither spoke a word.

"I'm sorry."

She turned her head to him. "For what?"

"For everything. I know I've been making life pretty hard for you this past week. I also never even got the chance to apologize that day I came to your room."

"Trunks, you don't have to apologise."

"Well I think I do. I was so afraid that day. I was sure that I had killed you."

She took his hand in her own and guided it to her abdomen. "Have a look."

He hesitated for a moment, unsure if she'd actually meant it. "Are you sure?"

"It's alright."

He slowly and hesitantly reached for the lower side of her shirt. He looked up at her again, but she showed no resistance. He slid her shirt upward to just under her ribs, to reveal a light silver scar that has taken the place of the wound. The pads of his fingers skated across her well-toned abdomen till he reached the silver streak of tissue, just to the left of her middle. He ran his fingers over the slight fault, tracing the few inches of uneven skin from one end to the other.

She placed her hand over his once more. He looked back up to meet her gaze.

"It's just a scar Trunks. Just a memory."

* * *

**As always, thanks for reading. Did you like it or not? Shoot me a review if you feel like it... ̿ ̿'̿'\̵͇̿̿\з=(•_•)=ε/̵͇̿̿/'̿'̿ ̿ ...I would appreciate it :)**

**Till next time**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! Before we begin I'd just like to apologize to the people that's been following and supporting this story. I had a lot of stuff to figure out and it wasn't fair to drag you all into it. But now, I've gotten most of my shit together and I will try my best to give you the story that you all deserve.**

**Okay. The place where I think that things completely went south was Chapter 10. So I've removed ch10, 11 and 12 and I'm currently busy rewriting those chapters. Although I think that ch11 and 12 were fairly solid, they won't fit in anymore.**

**Thank you all for being so patient and understanding with me :)**

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**\- . Offing Purple Haze . –  
Chapter 10**

Their bodies were firmly pressed to one another. Their eyes almost completely unable to take a new breath at beholding the other's depths as they slowly descended to the courtyard of the island. Time had passed them by with incredible acceleration. Darkness surrounded them as they moved through the open air, finally finding their off-ramp to end a night like non other.

Korra didn't want it to end. But she knew she had to take a step back, removing her boots from the tops of his, one foot at a time.

Her gaze couldn't help but to be drawn to his. "That was really something else huh."

"It really was."

She slid her hands from around his shoulders to his torso, unsure whether or not she should remain as close to him as she was. Although, she knew which she preferred. Her front foot moved in closer, giving her something to place her weight on.

The gap shrunk.

She could feel his breath growing ragged under her palms. His heart fluttering in his chest, like a bird jammed in a snare. This made her feel more at ease, knowing that she wasn't the only one.

A light giggle to her right caught her attention. Her first instinct was to avoid it, but on second thought, she'd never hear the end of it if she did. She gave a heavy sigh, knowing exactly which identities belonged to such giggles.

"Jinora, Ikki! Aren't you two supposed to be asleep?"

The two airbending girls leered over the railings of the porch.

"Jinora."

Jinora stood up in protest. "But it's only quarter past nine."

"Then go read something!"

Korra took a hard step towards the two girls.

"Fine, we're going! But just so you know, dad wants you to start training again tomorrow morning. He said something about some hiking in the mountain for fitness, so you'll probably be heading out very early."

"Noted. Now move along."

The two girls snarled in retort, but reluctantly did as they were told.

"Sorry about that. They really know how to get on my nerves when it comes to privacy."

"That's alright. It kind of reminds me of when I was a teen. My mom would always be up in my face about everything."

"Yeah." Korra took a step back. "I should probably head on out. It sounds like I've got a tough morning planned."

"That's probably a good idea. I should get some rest as well."

"You need some help walking to the healing wing?"

"Nah. I think I'll manage."

* * *

"Be the leaf!"

"I'm trying."

"Don't focus on me! Focus on the boards!"

Another board spun in her radius, crashing into her left side, knocking her off balance. One thud led to another, and soon she was spat out to where she started.

"No Korra. Remember what I said. The leaf flows through the course, untouched and unscathed."

"Yeah I remember Tenzin. I just can't seem to shake off this funk that I'm in."

"That's quite alright. You can't just expect to bounce back immediately after being out of commission for so long."

At this time, Trunks had made his way to the training area. He found himself a good view in a nearby tree to silently watch the torment of the Avatar.

"Alright Korra. Just one more time and you can have the rest of the day off."

Tenzin swerved his palms and unleashed a relatively fast moving current through the boards. Korra was reluctant to get back on her feet and try again. She quickly entered the first section. No hits were made thus far with the exception of a light graze against her shoulder. As the boards spun in all directions, so did she.

All seemed well, until a wrong step caused by a quick hesitation knocked her back into a spinning board. From there on the hits only piled up one after the other. Yet again, the course spat her out like a thoroughly chewed bone.

"Alright Korra. I think that's enough for the day. We'll work on this tomorrow."

Trunks couldn't be bothered to conceal his chuckle after Tenzin had left the area. She shot a look at him while he sat laughing in his tree.

"What's so funny?"

"Sorry. I just thought it seemed pretty hysterical."

"What? You think you could do better?"

He dropped down from the high branch, catching himself with his flight mere moments before hitting the dirt.

"Are you kidding me? This is a baby's jungle gym compared to the things that I've done for training."

"Oh please. You couldn't even dodge an old airbender's attacks. What makes you think you could handle this."

"That's out of contexts. I didn't have any energy left because I was too busy doing your job."

"Oh right. You forgot how to eat."

"Fine. I bet you that I'll do this course without being touched once."

"Oh please. You're on."

"If I win, you have to buy me a cup of coffee."

"Coffee?"

"Yeah. Don't tell me you guys don't have coffee."

"No, we don't."

"Seriously? I've seen some coffee plants growing on this very island."

"I guess that no one thought about making them."

"This is inexcusable. After I've put you to shame here we're going out to make some coffee. Deal?"

He reached out and she gripped his forearm in a traditional watertribe agreement.

"Deal."

Korra let the current build up in the air around her, giving the boards a good test of dexterity. Trunks stepped up to the plate, giving her a little smile before proceeding. A quick jump marked the point of no return. The gates didn't seem like much of a challenge due to the nature of his speed. When reached the middle of the ring he stopped.

"What are you doing?"

"Sorry, I just wanted to ask you something. Could you make the boards go faster?"

Korra mumbled something before unleashing an even more powerful rush of air towards him. The boards spun at an incredible speed. Even he had his doubts. He looked around for a moment, considering all factors at play before diving through. He managed to narrowly evade most gates. One grazed his left.

He made a desperate jump to exit on the other side. A swinging gate caught him at his side, letting him tumble out the exit. Korra jogged over to the other side and offered him a hand.

"You alright?"

"Yeah I'm okay. Just a small error of judgement."

"So that means I win."

"No. I made it through."

"Yeah but you said untouched. As far as I know, you've taken at least two hits."

"Fine. We'll split the coffee."

* * *

"There they are."

"Those? Those are just Ko-Hi Cherries. They're not very useful. The only animals that actually like them are hog monkeys and lemurs."

"Ever wonder why those animals are so energetic? Besides, it's not the cherry we're after, it's the seeds."

"Why the seeds?"

"All in good time. Now help me pick a few of them. After we've taken out the seeds, we leave them in the sun to try. By tomorrow, we can use them to make coffee."

They both took a cross-legged seat on opposite sides of the plant. Trunks started picking the cherries, but Korra fiddled around a bit more.

"So. Are nervous about the trial?"

She thought she'd opened up the wrong topic of conversation at his refusal to take part. But he soon came around.

"I'm not worried about the punishment, if that's what you're asking."

"Huh? Why not. Aren't you afraid of spending you're whole life in prison, or even worse, getting the death sentence?"

"Not really. If I were sentenced to death, I highly doubt they'd be able to end my life."

"And why wouldn't they?"

"I have too much power."

"Excuse me. You almost died last week from some benders. And they weren't even aiming to end your life."

"That was different. The only reason that mistake happened was due to my over-eagerness. I wasn't worried about my own needs and for that I paid a hefty price. But as you saw in our little fight that we had, I'm pretty hard to get rid of when in good health."

"Well you're not in good health."

"Physically, no. Mentally, probably not. But my power doesn't come from my physical being. Just like you benders, I rely on my ki."

"Ki?"

"It's the same thing as chi, it's just a different name."

"So you're saying that the same thing that makes you fly, gives us our bending."

"Yes. But it's more complicated than that. I have thought about the connection between the two. My theory is that control over the elements is only a small portion of the possibilities that lie within us all. For some reason, certain groups of people are born with the power to bend. I think that certain genes makes it possible for them to tap into this power. I have encountered many opponents that can manipulate certain things with their chi. I knew a great warrior that could use his chi for teleportation. My master told me about a man named Ginyu that could switch bodies with people and animals. I myself, am also not just limited to flight."

"You can't switch bodies too, can you?"

"No. But I can project my energy into the physical realm. It's not just manipulating some sort of weapon, it is the weapon."

"Could you show me?"

"Alright. It's only fair that you know."

She scooted around the bush, getting closer to see what he does. He brought his hands up into the air and held them there.

"Okay. The first thing you have to do is calm both body and mind. Then, you listen. You listen to the centre of your body. This is the source of your ki. You have to understand it. It's a part of you."

The shadows of his palms started to wither. An unknown light source started illuminating the space between his hands.

"Once you can become aware of it, you will feel a pull."

The light started taking shape in his hands, a small, yet bright sphere.

"Then, you just pull it out."

The tiny sphere increased in size and value. The light it emanated was a bright yellow, combined with some shades of orange and white. Korra was mesmerized by it, unable to take her eyes away. She reached out one of her hands.

"Can I touch it?"

"Yes you may."

He could see the hesitation. Her hand inched closer and closer to the sphere, till her fingertips completely vanished inside its rays.

"It's… oddly warm. But feels like something else. I can't describe it."

The ball quickly faded away. The shadows of his palms returned.

"That was pure energy. Just like that, it's harmless. But after you give it intent, it becomes a physical object. That object isn't to be taken lightly. With enough power behind it there is nothing and no one that can stop it. It makes the destruction caused by firebending look like a children's chew toy. It's been the reason for the death of billions. Good and bad have used it to kill."

"Even you?"

His eyes lay dormant in the dirt beneath his feet.

"Even me."

* * *

"I didn't think you as _one_ for meditation."

Trunks recognized the stern voice behind him, but turned around anyway, just as a precaution. Trunks was sitting in the meditation pavilion, a place that was nearly held sacred by the air nomads.

"Mister Tenzin. I'm sorry. I just needed to take some time to think."

"Say no more. Meditation plays an important role in trying to decipher one's true purpose. It often leads one to find that even in times of extreme hardship, one's ability to understand what's truly going on is distorted and convulsed. This gives you room to grow, to learn and most importantly, to change."

"When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change."

Tenzin took a seat next to Trunks, looking out over the moon's reflection in the ocean. "Yes. That was one of my father's most important teachings to me as an airbender. After he passed, I was the only airbender left. An entire culture rested upon my shoulders."

"That must have been hard. Did meditation help you through it?"

"No. It's my family that kept me going. My wife, Pema, stayed with me through some very difficult times. Then, a few years later, I had my first child. Now I am blessed with four beautiful children. Meditation only opens me to the possibilities. It's my love for my family that drives me."

"Well not everybody has the luxury of family."

"I'm very sorry to hear that."

"My dad was a warrior. He… He had a lot to prove. He had a very troubled past. It also didn't seem like he really cared about us. All he ever wanted was to be the best. But when it came down to it, he gave his life to save ours. Although he tried to hide it, he had slowly turned into a man that loved his family."

"He sounds like a great man. Later in life you will come to realize that there is absolutely nothing in this world, or the next, that you wouldn't do for your family. And to me, Korra is a part of that family."

"You don't have to say it. I know what you meant by that. Besides, it doesn't matter. In three days, I won't be around for you to worry about the two of us."

"Although I'd like to think that I'd have some measure of handle over who Korra becomes infatuated with, I don't. Such decisions are up to her and to her only."

Tenzin rose to his feet and proceeded to return to his family home, with his voice but a mere echo in his footsteps. "But she's a smart young woman. She'll make the right choice."

"I wish that she wouldn't." Trunks muttered out over the darkened sea.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. I know this chapter was a bit more dialogue heavy but that ain't always a bad thing. I hope you like the different direction that I'm taking the story in. Please leave a review and share your thoughts. I'll try and update next Sunday if possible.**

**Until then, have an awesome week! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm really, really, really sorry for keeping you all waiting. I have a terribly busy schedule. In about three weeks things will clear up for a week or two so hopefully my updates will come one after the other. But till then, I'd have to squeeze my writing into an already swamped timetable.**

* * *

**\- . Offing Purple Haze . –  
Chapter 11**

"Do we really have to do this?"

Korra kept on lightly pushing him towards the airbender's family home. "Yes. You have a trial coming up tomorrow. Asami said that she'd try and find you a lawyer who'd be willing to deal with your train wreck. Besides, there's no turning back now. She's waiting for you in the dining room."

"I've never even met her. Why would she want to help me out?"

"Asami is the only one that defended you when you were still a wanted vigilante."

"I still am a wanted vigilante."

"That's why you need a lawyer."

"Come on. I don't need one."

Trunks's cries went uncared for. He should just do it and get it over with.

They entered the home and headed for the dining room, where Asami had been waiting.

"Here he is Asami."

Asami pulled her attention from the documents on the table, to the two standing in the doorway. She was quick to get up from her seat to greet him. "Hi. I'm Asami."

"Trunks. Nice to meet you."

He was surprised when she extended her hand to greet him with a formal shake, completely ignoring the older customs that he'd come to expect from the people here. Another thing that added to the surprise was such a firm grip from someone who appeared so delicate.

"You're the girl that ran to call Tenzin when I first came here, right?"

She chuckled, but felt a slight guilt at thinking back at what happened after she did. "Yeah… Sorry about that."

"Don't be. You did the right thing."

They all took a seat at the knee-high wooden table.

"So I've taken a look at what you're being charged with. I've got the police file here with me. You can take a look at that if you'd like."

Asami pulled a folder from the bag she'd left out on the table and passed it on to Trunks. He took a peek at its contents.

"Burglary? Why is that on here? I'm no thief."

"Oh that. Burglary is defined as committing a criminal offence inside a building that you've gained unauthorised access to. Remember the Red House incident?"

"What's the Red House incident?" Korra asked.

"It's a triad group that he paid a visit."

"What happened?"

"I only roughed them up a little." Trunks said.

"Oh you did a lot more than that." Asami interrupted. "There are pictures at the back Korra. But unless you planned on showing us what you ate this morning, I'd advise not to look."

"Thanks for the heads up." Korra said as she tossed the file aside, not risking a peek.

"Speaking of the Red House Organization, apparently the remaining members want to take their revenge on you for burning their institute to the ground." Asami said.

"And I encourage them to do so."

"Well, they're going to have to wait a couple of lifetimes for that, because as it stands, you don't have much of a defence. Normally you and your lawyer would be able to work out a good one, but due to the extremely short time frame, I'll have to make it work with what I have."

"I'll be fine. Thank you Asami."

* * *

Another gate thrashed Korra at full force, and yet again she was tossed out of the course. She plopped onto the hard ground. She lifted her chin up, getting an upside-down view of Trunks sitting cross-legged a few feet away.

"I don't get it. The last time that I struggled with this stupid course was when I first came to the island."

Trunks took no notice to her cries, focused on replacing his bandages. She grew a bit impatient at his lack of dialogue, but her groan had no effect on him. She watched him tear off the lightly blood-stained wrappings from his left arm and shoulder. _Koh_ he was well sculpted. Years and years of intense training were to be held responsible, no doubt. Although most of his upper body still held some memory of the bruises and cuts he'd received about a week ago, it didn't distract from the toned muscle that rippled underneath.

Quick to realize that she was staring, she averted her gaze. He'd been silent for too long now. "Is there a reason that you're just watching me get my butt handed to me?"

He halted his preoccupation to look up at her. He was slightly amused by her disgruntled demeanour. "Are you asking my advice?"

"You want me to take it back?"

"No. It's fine. I'll make myself useful."

Her view of him flipped back upright as she rolled over. She mirrored his sitting posture.

"You're too hesitant." He said.

"Huh?"

"Yeah. You're thinking about where you're moving. That makes you slower."

"That makes no sense. You can't move without thinking."

"Oh really? Have you ever taken a walk to clear your thoughts? Suddenly you realize you've already walked around the whole area. You weren't thinking about walking, but you still did it."

"Yeah, but that's only because I'm keeping my attention somewhere else."

"Okay well this is the same concept, except you shouldn't think about it at all. Thinking about a movement takes far too much time. A specific part of my training was specifically for this purpose, reacting to something while eliminating the time taken to think about it."

"And how do you suppose I do that?"

"What I would do is use my senses to avoid getting know my surroundings. But in your case, you might have to committing to a movement. When you have to think twice about your next move, you're doing it wrong."

She brought herself to a standing position. "Seems easy enough."

A new gust flowed through the air, disturbing any gate that it passed. Korra inhaled sharply and jumped into action. She cleared the entrance and proceeded in weaving her way through. She seemed to be doing better. Trunks watched with a keen eye, noting every footstep. Korra neared the middle.

A slight bump on her ankle stole her attention. She was quick to improvise by dodging the gate that nearly took her face off. She took a step forward, but midway through she noted that a collision was on her way. She undid her step and was happy to know that she avoided an impact. This grin wasn't one to stick around long.

A gate crashed into her backside, knocking her into the same gate she spent so much effort to avoid. As it always did, one collision led to another. She took control of her momentum and narrowly missed her next obstacle. She kept pushing through, focused on committing to her next move. The final gates spun at her, and she quickly dove through the tiny gap.

Her body planted itself firmly in the hard stone outside of the course. She jumped to her feet, relishing the feeling.

"That was good. You hesitated in your step, and that's why you tumbled. But you recovered pretty well."

"I know. It's gonna take some practise, but I'll get back to my normal self in no time."'

"Wanna give it another go."

"Nah. I think I'm done for the day."

He picked up the neatly folded old wrappings and proceeded to the healing wing.

"Ummm Trunks."

"Yeah?"

"You know that energy thing that you showed me yesterday?"

"Yes. I remember."

"You said that it could be used as a weapon."

It didn't take any senses to see that she was very hesitant about the subject. Why that would be the case, he had no idea. Maybe out of respect. "Do you wanna see?"

"If that's okay with you."

"No it's alright. Just a warning, the Police Force may come swinging down onto the island due to some heavily suspicious activity."

She smirked. "It's not like that's ever bothered you before."

He defended with a grin of his own. "You're right. It hasn't."

He tossed the bandages to the side. "You might wanna take a few steps back."

His eyes clenched, his concentration delving deep to gather the energy that he hadn't used in a very long time. His energy boiled from within. His hands balled into fists. The air fell silent. All that moved was the slight twitch in his brow.

His eyes flashed open in sync with an earth-shuttering shockwave. Even Korra couldn't hold a steady position. The hard stone under his feet cracked and shattered under the weight of his power. It was truly something to behold. Raw, unrelenting power.

The hollow beneath his feet grew. The forces that moved through the air kept getting stronger.

He straightened his arms in parallel to the earth. Quick bursts of lightning scattered around his palms. He brought his arms together in front of them. As expected, the bright light appeared. It grew in volume and concentration. The electric shocks moved from just his palms, to cover the entire area around him.

The energy flared up in a massive discharge. The explosion sent shock waves throughout the island. But instead of the energy beam that he was expecting, an internal explosion. Trunks was tossed through the air at his back, colliding with the home of the airbending family. It took three stone walls to halt his momentum.

* * *

"I don't get why that happened. It's usually a solid technique."

"Hey hold still will ya! I can't heal you while you're moving about like that." She towed his arm closer and let her healing water seep over the burnt area. "Maybe you're not as good as you think."

"No it's not that."

"Well, have you had any other problems lately?"

He sighed. "I don't know. I have been having a hard time sensing energies lately. I've had some trouble with flying as well, but I'm not sure about it."

"Then I don't know either." She continued her focus on healing the burns on his arm. "Maybe your energy was off."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there is this one story that I was told about Fire Lord Zuko that's kind of the same."

"What happened to him?"

"Basically, when he was still a young man, struggling to find his place in the world, he tried learning lightning bending. Every time he tried it, it just blew up in his face. Kind of like you, but the explosion probably wasn't as big as yours."

"What was the issue?"

"His uncle told him that if he wanted to learn how to bend lightning, he had to deal with the turmoil on the inside. If there's an imbalance, your chi won't flow correctly. That might be why that happened."

"But I don't have any turmoil. I'm the same as I've always been. I've never had any problems before."

"Maybe you're wrong about Ki and Chi being the same. Maybe it exploded because your body had been absorbing a different type of energy that's been taking a toll on the mental imbalances you have."

"Well, it's not impossible. But I can't really think of something that would affect me like this."

"Really? I can think of ten. All the victims that you've left eating through straws would vouch for that. Should I remind you that you're currently standing at public enemy number one?"

He chuckled. "I used to be much worse you know."

She noted the serious tone that it hid, and the slight anxiety in his demeanour. He has been flaunting this side of himself for days now. Why wasn't he opening up to her about this darker side of himself? "What do you mean?"

"I…" He took a moment to reflect on what he was about to convey to her. He sighed. "I'll tell you some other time."

Then and there she saw something within him. A vulnerability that he'd been trying to hide, not just from her, but one he's locked away years ago. The spark in his eyes was being tortured to near death. How could he carry such a deep weight?

"Your trial is tomorrow Trunks. There won't be another time."

"Then it's best to leave it buried."

Without an order, she stretched her hands over the brawn of his shoulders, his muscles unfortunately being just as taut as his mind. Tightly wound and tense. She looked into the darker patches of his irises. She'd never taken full notice of the darker blues. The most haunting was the reflection of what they represented.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" she whispered. "Let me in."

"Believe me Korra. You don't want that."

"What if I do?"

"I promise. You won't look at me the same."

"You don't have to carry that burden alone. Let me in."

He could see the strain behind her eyes. An unsteady breath escaped him. His hand reached to the top of her head, his thumb gliding over her forehead to find its anchor in the middle.

She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. An eternity dragged through the silence. A lightheaded feeling arose as an opening formed in her psyche. She began to tremble.

All of his pained memories were set free, moving and spreading through her subconscious like wildfire. The destroyed world that he grew up in. The death of his closest friend. The androids. Cell. The time machine. All of the massacres. His father. His own death. No pain was withheld. No despair was off limits.

She silenced her yells with her palms, her voice threatening to yelp once more at the horror that possessed her mind. Tears formed in her eyes. Her breath quivered beneath her suppressed cries.

He put his arms around her shoulders and drew her to his chest. He pulled her tight to help ease her trembling frame. Her breaths were heavy and unsteady, and they winced just as she did.

"How…" She spoke in-between unsteady sobs, her voice quivering just as much as her physique. "How do you live with this?"

* * *

**Again you guys, I am terribly sorry about taking three full weeks to post. I hope you liked the chapter. I'm kicking things up a bit in the next chapter where we go to his trial and sentencing. If you have some thoughts about how that should go, I'd love to hear em'. Don't be shy and shoot me a review in sharing your thoughts about this chapter :)**

**Till next time!**


	12. Chapter 12

**So this took an entire month... Yup. That kinda sucks.**

**No in all seriousness, I really am sorry that I keep taking this long to post a new chapter. I actually wrote three different versions for this chapter and was the happiest with this one. I sincerely hope you like it.**

**Just a little heads up, I've never been in court before. I say this because I have no real idea of how court works except for what we see in movies and such. It's also important to remember that the Avatar Universe has a different court system than we do so please just ignore any inaccuracies :)**

* * *

**\- . Offing Purple Haze . -**

**Chapter 12**

"Why couldn't we just have found a real lawyer to take this case? I know you already said it's because of the short time and the idea of actually defending public enemy number one and all that stuff, but still. If we continue like this we'll get him the death sentence for sure." Korra groaned out, her face buried within the hard wood table in the courtroom.

Asami pulled her nose from the excessively large folder and sighed. "I'm sorry that my opening statement didn't go so well okay. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a lawyer."

"I think that everyone's noticed." Korra's comment was met with a gentle yet solid elbow to her upper arm. "Hey relax will ya? I was just kidding. Speaking of which, why is the council allowing _us_ to defend Trunks?"

"I spoke to Tenzin about it. He said that if Trunks wanted an unqualified lawyer to defend him, the council wouldn't deny him that right."

"Sounds like they don't like him very much."

Asami took a look around their courtroom, which also doubled as the council's headquarters. Dozens of citizens held boards that read some extreme anti-devil rhetoric. Only a handful were brave enough to publicly support the actions of the Devil of Republic City. "Very few people do."

"We only have a few minutes before the recess ends and they bring Trunks out for questioning. Please tell me you've figured out some kind of defence in the last twenty minutes."

"After twenty minutes of intensely scanning through this enormous file, I got nothing."

"Well if we don't come up with something, that woman is gonna burry us." She glared over at the prosecutor on the other half of the courtroom. That woman knew what she was doing. Her opening statement was flawless, her arguments were on point and she never even flinched at anything Asami could throw her way.

The four councilmen strolled back into view. Tenzin had been excluded from the case due to not having an impartial view of Trunks because of their previous encounters.

"Alright. The second part of this trial is underway. Everyone please be seated."

He patiently waited for everyone to quiet down to continue the trial. Once everybody settled down he continued. "Over the past four hours we've seen a lot of evidence brought to light for the conviction of the defendant. We have only yet to question him before we reach our verdict."

"Defending council, are you about ready?"

Korra gave Asami a questioning look. "Who's he talking to?"

"I think that's us." Asami said. She fumbled with her papers and gave a reply. "I uhhh- Yes Your Honor. We're ready. We'd like to call Trunks to the stand."

"Bailiff. Bring in the defendant." The councilman ordered.

The bailiff opened the door to the side of the hall. Trunks walked out with an officer on both sides, escorting him to the stand. The crowd lost their bearings when seeing him enter the room. They shouted at the top of their lungs, "Murderer!" and "Devil!" Other members of the audience applauded their hero with whistles and praises. The gavel thumped a few times too many to settle the crowd.

He stepped onto the stand, giving the councilman a soft glare as they inspected him from afar. The leading member immediately raised alarm. "Why isn't he chains?"

The bailiff went cold. "We cuffed him Your Honor, but he kept on breaking the chains. There's nothing we can do."

"I'll behave sir. Don't worry." Trunks said.

"You best. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I do."

"State your name for the record."

"Trunks Briefs."

"Defending council, you may proceed."

Korra waited for Asami to get up and ask what she needed, but Asami remained seated and gestured Korra to ask what they needed. "What? Asami I can't do that." She whispered. "I don't know what to do."

"Look, you know Trunks far better than anyone else. All you need to do is convince these people that he isn't the monster they make him out to be."

"Defending council, we're waiting." The councilman said.

"Sorry Your Honor." Korra said. She pushed her chair out and hesitantly walked to the open floor. All eyes were on her. She wiped away the bit of sweat on her brow and cleared her throat.

"I uhhh…" she stammered. "Ladies and gentlemen, here we ummm…"

She felt the stare of a hundred people drilling away at her. She looked around and saw the blank faces of the councilman. Then her eyes wandered over to him. He gave her nothing but a soft smile. She turned back to the audience and sighed.

"I'm sorry about this but I'm gonna have to level with you here. I don't really know what to ask him. I'm not a lawyer. I also don't have a good rep with the members of this council. But I've spent the past two weeks getting to know the Devil of Republic City, and do you know what I realized? He isn't the Devil. He's not some kind of monster or freak. Look, I know that you're scared. I know that you don't want this guy around. Trust me, no-one wanted to see him behind bars more than I wanted to. We've fought once, and as you know, I ended up getting speared."

Some of the crowd and one councilmen chuckled at her remark.

Korra continued. "After that I couldn't stand the thought of him. But then I got to know him. Now I know that you've heard a lot of bad things about him this morning. Yes, he put a lot of people in the hospital. But there are also a lot of people who are still alive thanks to him. You've even heard some of them as they testified in his favour. But facts remain. He broke the law. He hurt people. He destroyed property. But you know what? So have I. He's been doing what the past Avatars have been doing for thousands of years. The only difference is that he punches too hard. But Trunks shouldn't be punished for trying to help this city. He doesn't deserve it. What he needs is help and guidance. This is how we can maintain peace and balance."

The court room was in uproar by the crowd. The gavel of the councilman swung several times, making its best efforts to still the crowd. Finally they settled down.

"No further questions Your Honor."

Korra walked back to her table and was admired by Asami for her words. The councilman finished writing some things down before speaking. "Prosecuting council, are you ready?"

"Yes we are Your Honor." She pushed her chair out, making sure it was loud enough for all to hear, and took the open floor.

"Quite the inspiring speech Avatar Korra. If this was a storybook, your speech would have been the thing to keep this man from prison. However, this is not a storybook. This is a courtroom. Here we serve justice to those who have broken the law. More than fifty men have been hospitalized by that man, Trunks Briefs. This is not a matter of dispute. That is a fact. And facts don't hold any moral judgement. Not what we think of them. Not what we feel. They just are. Whether or not Mr Briefs is a good man with good intentions, is irrelevant. Questions of good and evil have no place in the court of law. Only the facts matter. Now I don't really have any more speeches to give, only questions that need to be answered."

She turned to the councilman. "Your Honor?"

"You may proceed."

She walked over to the stand and started with her first question. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from West Village ma'am."

"West Village? Where's that?"

"It's a small village in the Nishi Kepu Shu Province. It's pretty much off the grid."

"Do you have any family there?"

"No ma'am."

"Where are they then?"

"Dead."

The crowd rumbled and muttered, only to have their vocal uproar silenced by the gavel of one of the council members. The older woman pushed her spectacles to the highest point of her nose ridge and took a look at the documents on the table. She cleared her throat, making her slightly hostile intention known to him.

"The physician that examined you reported that sixteen per cent of your body is covered in scarred tissue."

He sat forward in his chair and cocked an eyebrow. "That's not a question."

"Of course not." She chuckled. "Were all these scars from your days of being a vigilante?"

"No."

"Are any of them self-inflicted?"

"Objection. These questions have nothing to do with what he's being charged with."

"Over ruled. I understand that you're not very familiar with the on goings of our court system Avatar, but this isn't the South Pole. Here we don't object to such things." The councilman said.

The woman gestured to Korra. "Knowing his metal stability is important for this trial. It's a crucial part in disproving any insanity defences." She turned back to him. "So I ask again. Are any of them self-inflicted?"

"No."

"The Avatar made a point in her little speech that in your stay on Air-Temple Island, you might have changed. She implies that you are no longer the kind of person that would say, attack a crime syndicate and leave few witnesses."

"Where are you going with this?"

* * *

"Captain, we're picking up a distress signal from a ship only eight miles from here."

The Captain took hold of the paper containing the coordinates that his crew had written down. "Notify the men. We're changing course."

_"Mr Briefs, three days ago a shipping vessel picked up a distress signal from another vessel. The captain and crew immediately went to investigate."_

After honing in on the vessel, they boarded the deck. It was hard for the crew to know what was going on as most of the lights had been killed. One of the crewmembers put his firebending to good use, leading them through quiet ship. The first sign they found of human life was a blood trail along the damaged hallway walls. It was a horrifying sight. Almost as if some kind of monster dragged a man along the walls and into the dark corridors. After the still wet blood trail had been found, a body was quick to follow.

The discovery of other bodies were quick to follow. Only a few of the crew were found alive, albeit, just barely. The equipment had been smashed, several structures such as walls and containers had been broken. Only a few soot stains on the walls of the corridors showed evidence that any firebending took place.

"Take the injured men and retreat to the ship." The Captain ordered, not caring to show the tremble in his voice.

* * *

"Six bodies were found Mr Briefs. Three men survived but remain in critical condition. The bodies didn't contain any burns. This also took place on a ship with no rock in sight, so it's safe to assume that earth- and firebending were not the causes of their deaths. Waterbending is a possibility, but neither the crew nor the authorities reported any water to be out of place. No, these men were beaten to death. There was also a significant amount of destruction done to the ship. The authorities found that the vessel was transporting a number of illegal substances. So the question remains, why would these traffickers call for help, when they know that if they did they would be sent to prison? My theory is that facing twenty years in prison seemed much better than facing the monster that brutally murdered them so. Of course, I don't have proof that this monster was you, but the injuries and destruction does seem to line up with what you are beings accused of. Just something to think about."

"Are you asking me where I was three days ago?"

"It's a start."

"I was on Air-Temple Island."

"With Avatar Korra?"

"Yes. With Avatar Korra."

"Fair enough. There isn't anything I can prove in that regard, so I'll move on to my final question. For the past two weeks, you have spent a considerable amount of time with Avatar Korra on Air-Temple Island. What is your relationship with her?"

"Objection!" Korra shouted.

"Over ruled Avatar! Now sit down."

"I repeat my question. What is your relationship with Avatar Korra?"

"Is this question some way of implying that Korra had some part in the crimes that I've committed?"

"Just answer the question."

Trunks's heart started pounding in his ears. He tried to ignore the bit of sweat trailing down his hairline.

* * *

"Are you alright Korra?"

Her smaller frame shot up at the surprise of his presence. The tension in her form eased up, albeit only slightly, knowing that it was merely the half sayian. Merely wasn't really the right word. Sayian, time traveler, dimension jumper, prince, murderer, vigilante, the list goes on. Yet, she was reluctant to show her nerves.

"I'm fine."

She brought her cup of stale tea closer, taking a small sip and bringing it back down. He noted the ripples in the tea caused by her shaky palms. He looked around the empty kitchen - barely lit, cold and a bright sign that she was bluffing.

"You don't seem fine."

She finished the final gulps of her drink. "I'm just… processing."

"I understand that it's a lot to take in. Want another cup?"

She didn't answer. Handing her empty one over to him was response enough. He filled the tea pot with enough water for the two of them, put it onto the stove and lit the fire with the spark rocks provided.

She still remained quiet, rolling her thumbs over the other. Her stare bore into the kitchen table under her hands. The corners of her eyes still retained a slight indication of the tears that formed due to overwhelming emotions he had brought onto her. He definitely understood her reaction. His most terrifying memories have now been embedded in her subconscious, as if she had lived through them herself.

"Korra, do you want to talk about it?"

Her deep breaths shuddered as she opened her mouth, but refrained from speaking. She attempted once more.

"I can't get it out of my head." She muttered.

"What do you mean?"

He reached over to her side of the kitchen table, picked up a chair and pulled it over. He slowly took a seat across from her, resting his arms on the island that separated them.

"That sound, the screaming of a little boy who's just found his closest friend lying lifeless in a puddle of water and blood." She winced at the mere thought. "What's happened to you isn't right." She muttered.

Trunks watched her as she went on, but said nothing. The light whistle of the kettle resounded through the quiet home. It grew much brasher in tone, yet still didn't break focus from her words.

"You can keep kidding yourself and hide all your grief, but you know very well that something can only bend so far till it snaps."

The whistling reached ear-piercing level, only to subside after Trunks got up to put out the minuscule flames. He slid her empty cup over the kitchen table and poured her another one. The silence lingered while he provided the both of them with a fresh cup of tea. She pushed her chair back and walked around the table to where he was busy.

She slid her cup next to her after he finished, but didn't pick it up. Neither did he. She took a step closer, leaving only a small gap between them. She heard his breath become uneven, fighting to remain dormant as it had been mere seconds ago. She slightly leaned a bit over, forcing away the apprehension at their closeness.

Her voice was soft and unsteady, conveying her trembling physique much clearer. This uncertainty wasn't from the same source as it had been mere minutes ago, but a different presence. "Trunks, what happens when you are sent to prison tomorrow? What happens when all of this pain behind your eyes builds too high, and you just can't handle all this torment that's plagued your life? What happens when you are bent too far, and you break?"

His eyes softly gazed into hers. She made her best attempts to silence the heartbeat fluttering in her chest. She placed her hand on his chest, uncertain whether or not to be relieved that he was experiencing the same thing.

"If I do break, will you be there?" He asked.

She leaned in closer, bringing their noses to the point of almost touching. She felt his warm breath over her lips, leaving a tingle in its wake. His scent invaded her senses, destroying all traces of her common sense. His breath shuddered once more. They simultaneously closed the distance. Her eyes fell closed as her lips pressed against his. At his reciprocation, she felt a fire igniting within her. Being the more experienced one, she ran her hands through his hair, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss. Her lips parted his, allowing her tongue to roam over the ridges of his teeth and find his. His hands slid over her arms, down her sides and settled around her waist. The heat between the two was immeasurable as the fire roared within her. After a few more beats, she broke the kiss.

Their eyes met, their breath being just as rugged as the other's. All was quiet. They just looked at one another, each of them trying to understand what they found in each other's eyes. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears.

* * *

"Mister Briefs, answer the question." The councilman ordered.

Trunks looked over at Korra, seeing the anxiety that plagued her in his silence. He took a deep breath. "She's just my healer."

"No further questions Your Honor."

She walked back to her council and took a seat among them.

"We will be taking a two minute break in which we will discuss the situation and reach our verdict."

The council turned to each other and engaged in a quick discussion. They kept their words quiet so that all they could hear was s light mutter. After a few minutes they retracted and regained their seats. One of them stood up.

"On the charges of multiple counts of aggravated assault, destruction of private and public property, evading arrest and sixty-nine other offenses, we find Trunks Briefs guilty of all charges. The punishment however, is not death, but rather three hundred years in a maximum security prison." The final decision was sealed by the swing of his gavel.

* * *

**There we go folks. I hope you liked the chapter. Please leave some reviews or PM me to share some of your thoughts.**

**Till next time (which is hopefully not another month)**


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